Federal water minister Keith Pitt committed to no more water buybacks and splitting the MDBA in two.

"This is not all that can be done, but this is a very good start," Ms Ley said.

"We had put money aside to recover the 450 gigalitres and we've recognised, and the water minister has recognised that this hasn't worked. No water has been recovered, hence the change of approach."

Ms Ley said any water recovery would have to work with off-farm savings which don't take water from farmers.

"That's a real line in the sand, that's what I see as critical part of the announcement."

While water buybacks won't be pursued in future, that change won't be reflected in legislation because of the risks of bringing changes to the plan through parliament and instead it will be a regulatory change.

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"The plan, while not perfect, is better in my view than no plan. The plan was always meant to be adaptive and I think this is an example of adapting to the situation," Ms Ley said.

"There are a lot of competing pressures at state level, at local level, at environment level and at production level and the plan balances them all.

"So from individual perspectives or geographic perspectives it's not answering everyone's needs, but overall, across the basin with these changes, it broadly is starting to do that."

Ms Ley said it was good to see the input from Murrumbidgee and Murray valley irrigators had been acknowledged in the Sefton report - the independent report into the socio-economic impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

"Before the last election I organised the Sefton report and a lot of what Keith (Pitt) said in his response generally reflected Robbie Sefton's findings about how tough it has been and is, for irrigators in the southern basin," she said.

While the Murray-Darling Basin Authority is going to be split into two distinct organisations, Ms Ley said it wouldn't affect the offices which were decentralised.

"That commitment has not changed and already I'm hearing good reports from the two people who are based here in Griffith," Ms Ley said.

"Just having that local knowledge and being able to relate better top farmers means the world to our communities."

The $30 million spend to take compliance out of the MDBA will see issues from the northern basin examined including metering and measuring of water.

While the federal government will make the changes to how the MDBA operates, Ms Ley said she wanted to see NSW do more to assist.

"Allocations for example, issues about the problem of conveyance water - to some degree that may be looked at by the Inspector-General," she said.

Ms Ley said in recent years 900 gigalitres had been set aside for the rivers and it was previously 700 gigalitres.

"Questions need to be asked about the volume of conveyance of water, issuing of licences and distribution of water below the Barmah Choke and downstream toward more and more permanent plantings.

"I'm looking forward to some measures being implemented by NSW."