The Murray-Darling Basin, which spans more than one million square kilometres across five states and territories, is at once a delicate environmental icon, critical for farming and central to Aboriginal culture.
The basin authority will consider all those interests as it prepares to release its first review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, after hearing from thousands of people across the nation.
The plan, which determines how much water can be taken from the system while also supporting eco-systems, has long been controversial.
But many basin users want to work together to support both industry and the environment, according to the authority's community consultation report released on Wednesday.
"People expressed strong interest in the future of the basin and reinforced the importance of getting the balance right between environmental sustainability, productive agriculture, and community wellbeing," the What We Heard report said.
Many agreed on maximising environmental outcomes, improving water quality, addressing native fish decline and strengthening governance and transparency.
Disagreement persisted over water allocations for the environment and irrigation, along with whether enough work was being done to mitigate climate risks.
"The feedback we received during the public consultation now sits alongside our science, modelling and policy work as we shape our recommendations," the authority's chief executive Andrew McConville said in a statement.
The government would use the review to make decisions on future water management, he said.
Among the thousands of submissions highlighted in the report, the NSW Irrigators' Council said the environment-versus-industry argument should be left in the past.
"We can achieve it all; environmental health, the continued growth of a world-leading irrigation industry, and the long-term prosperity of the regional communities that underpin them," the council said.
"The path forward is not more water, but better management."
Butchulla and Woppaburra scientist Jade Gould said more than 120,000 First Nations people across the basin had a direct relationship with the river system.
"Their wellbeing is not incidentally connected to river health, it is structurally, spiritually, and physically dependent upon it," Ms Gould said.
Farmer Wendy McDonald said her family worked on the land, while also caring deeply for it.
"We restore remnant wetlands and woodland," she said.
"We also farm food and fibre. We care."
Victorian woman Amanda Souter said the basin plan had real effects on small rural communities.
"Less water means less people in my town, which has seen fewer kids in schools and less people participating in my local sporting clubs, and in our local rural areas like Koyuga, where farming families are disappearing into larger farms," she said.
The review is due to be released later in 2026.
