Water Minister Tony Burke extended on Monday by two weeks consultation with four states after the deadline for the approval of the fourth blueprint for the Murray-Darling Basin plan lapsed.

The federal government and the state governments of South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have been struggling for five years to reach an agreement since the Water Act was introduced in 2007 by the Howard government.

South Australia wants more water returned to the system to prevent an environmental crisis, but the three other states are against the plan because of its potential negative impact on their irrigation communities.

Mr Burke did not rule out using his power to push through with the plan if the states fail to reach a deal.

"While the Act would allow me to move to the next stage where I have unilateral legal powers to direct changes, I have decided to continue to seek the final elements of a genuine consensus position over the coming weeks," Adelaide Now quoted Mr Burke.

SA Premier Jay Weatherill said there would likely be no consensus reached among the state and warned of taking the case to court if there would not be sufficient water for the state.

In turn, the Queensland, NSW and Victorian governments threatened to file counter lawsuits if it would be pressured to give up too much water from irrigators in their states.

Queensland officials said they have serious concerns with the identification by the basin plan of 143 gigalitres of water to be returned to the environment, NSW wants the federal government to limit the environmental water it buys from irrigators to a maximum of 2,100 GL, while Victoria said the basin plan failed to provide a balance between the needs of the environment, food producers and communities.

Mr Burke said he is in favour of using a mechanism that would allow various volumes of water to be held within limits in cases when water could be used more efficiently either for irrigation or other purposes. He said such a mechanism would focus on outcomes instead of volume.

The negative reaction of the irrigators and communities to the guide released by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority in October 2010 led to the resignation of the agency's chairman, Mike Taylor. He was replaced by former NSW Labor Minister Craig Knowles who came out with another draft basin plan in November 2011, a proposed basin plan in March and a revised proposed basin plan in early August.

RELATED STORIES