THE pandemic restriction on interstate travel has extended even to the nation's waterways.
Police are patrolling locks six and nine on the Murray River, near the South Australian/Victorian border, to ensure no one is flouting travel ban rules.
Murray Darling Basin Authority executive director Andrew Reynolds said the rules were being enforced to prevent people trafficking up and down the river.
"So just like a highway, there are similar check points on the river," Mr Reynolds said.
"We've got to have a consistent approach [to the travel restrictions]."
South Australia Police have advised that any vessels downstream of lock six will be required to provide them with information and may be subject to a written direction to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days.
Vessels moving upstream from there may be subject to control measures implemented within other states.
Commercial houseboating is also prohibited.
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The restrictions come as the Darling River joins up with the Murray for the first time in 18 months.
The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) said river communities between Euston and Lock near the SA border can expect flows and river heights to vary over the next one to two weeks, as the Darling's flow is massaged into the Murray.
Mr Reynolds said various steps were being taken to efficiently manage the poor-quality water at the head of the flow, which is from the highly-saline and nutrient-rich pools that have sat stagnant behind block banks along the lower Darling for many months.
Salinity levels in the Murray are expected to peak at more than 1000 EC units - which Mr Reynolds described as "usable but not great" - before dropping back down to 100 EC after about a week.
"We will be lowering the lock 10 weir pool level at Wentworth to actively draw the flow out of the Darling, as well as boosting the flow rate in the Murray by lowering the Euston Weir, and diverting some of the early flow into Lake Victoria where it will be further diluted for later, managed releases back into the Murray," Mr Reynolds said.
"The good news is that behind the head of the flow, the water coming through the Darling is high quality.
"This will bring a tremendous reprieve to everyone and everything that has coped for so long with adverse conditions in the lower Darling."
Mr Reynolds said river users should adjust their pumps and moorings, as both the the Wentworth and Euston weir pools are expect to drop by up to 30cm.