The association believes a 'never ending turf war' is strangling local communities and the livelihoods of 2.6 million people in them.

MDA CEO Emma Bradbury said there was concern that 'time was running out' to protect the health of the Murray-Darling and to lay the groundwork for a sustainable agricultural sector.

"Over recent months the MDA has been working not only with local government but with a range of groups representing farmers, irrigators, First Nations people, science and environmentalists," Ms Bradbury said.

"What we have seen is that these groups and others are all willing to listen to each other and find common ground.

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"The old style of politics isn't working. There are challenging times ahead, especially as we rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"If we don't build a consensus and do what is good for the river and the region as a whole, then we have failed ourselves and all Australians. There will be ghost towns across the Basin."

The Murray Darling Association will hold its 76^th national conference in the middle September in Shepparton and online.

Ms Bradbury said more than 20 separate government agencies were involved in deciding how water is used in the Basin - yet the people who make the Basin their home still had little say in their own future.

"This is not just about how we use our water in a good year or a bad year," she said.

"If governments and communities don't work together to get this right, it could compromise our food production, and the river and communities that sustain 2.6 million Australians.

"The future of our Basin is not certain. In order for our communities to thrive in the face of change, our national plans and priorities must work together. And work for us.

"If those plans can't work together, we run a very real risk of whole communities being decimated.

"We cannot afford to fail."