The Murray-Darling Basin Authority, which controversially delayed the release of a guide to the draft basin plan until after the federal election, says it will now release the guide on October 8, well after a new government is expected to be formed.

The authority said the extra delay was a result of doing extra modelling of the social and economic effects of a new basin plan, which would contain significant cuts to water entitlements to irrigators.

But the Sydney Morning Herald has learnt the authority had initially decided not to make public the new date for guide's release, sparking a row between board members, staff and key stakeholders' advisers.

That decision was reversed yesterday after heated meetings within the authority over two days. Requests for interviews with the authority chief executive, Rob Freeman, and its chairman, Mike Taylor, were unanswered yesterday.

The decision to again delay the report sparked another round of criticism of the authority for a lack of communication with key stakeholders and the public.

Arlene Harriss-Buchan, an Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner for healthy rivers, said: ''Thank goodness the authority has finally come out with a firm date.

''The uncertainty has been extremely damaging, and caused worry and gossip-mongering that could have been avoided if the original release dates had been adhered to.''

Danny O'Brien, the chief executive of the National Irrigators' Council, said the extra delay heightened uncertainty and anxiety among his members.

Ms Harriss-Buchan and Mr O'Brien said it was good the authority had taken more time to improve social and economic data, but they would wait until the release of the plan to determine whether it had been worth the wait.

The release of the draft plan was originally expected in July but was delayed. The authority instead offered to release a ''guide'' to the plan in August. It then indefinitely delayed the release of the guide when the federal election was called, citing the caretaker convention as a reason for its decision.

The Water Minister, Penny Wong, said it was not the government's decision when the guide would be released. She said she was ''confident'' the authority understands the importance of releasing the guide ''sooner rather than later''