Murray mouth dredging could begin 'in weeks' as Basin states, Commonwealth pledge $4 million

Dredging of the River Murray mouth could begin in weeks after the South Australian Government was granted $4 million from the Murray Darling Basin Authority to keep the channel open over summer.

SA River Murray Minister Ian Hunter said conditions of the mouth in the Coorong had "deteriorated significantly" over the last few months and dredging could begin within a month.

"I think it's highly likely at this stage, pending any big change in terms of weather systems, which I really just don't see coming," Mr Hunter said.

"And to be frank, it's better to be safe than sorry in these matters and to start the dredging early and get it underway.

"Should some favourable change happen, well that's great, but we just don't want to take the risk."

Members of the MDB Ministerial Council agreed to the funding after "relatively low River Murray flows, severe storm conditions and a decrease in rainfall" posed a risk of the mouth closing, Mr Hunter said.

He said the cost would be be shared equally between the Commonwealth and the Basin states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and SA.

"The water that's there for environmental purposes is being used elsewhere," Mr Hunter said.

"There haven't been in-flows through South Australia and we've had big storms over winter that have pushed sand through the mouth back into the Coorong, so we really do need to act now."

The Murray mouth has not been dredged since 2010 when drought-breaking rains brought much needed water back to the system.