Fairfax Agricultural Media understands Mr Glyde’s elevation to head the MDBA has already been approved by federal cabinet and is now awaiting formal ratification.

It’s expected the government’s federal executive council – which green-lights high level executive appointments and regulations, to be signed-off by the Governor General - is due to meet later this month, where the appointment will be finalised.

Mr Glyde would replace Rhondda Dickson who started at the MDBA in mid-2011 after shifting from her role as the then Department of Agriculture’s deputy secretary.

Dr Dickson replaced Rob Freeman as MDBA CEO, who departed several months after the abrupt and controversial departure of the authority’s chairman Mike Taylor at the height of public uproar and anger over the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Mr Taylor was MDBA chairman when a draft guide to the basin plan was publicly released in late 2010, sparking outrage over its proposal to remove up to 4000 gigalitres of farm production water from basin communities to meet environmental objectives.

Ms Dickson and former MDBA chairman Craig Knowles were subsequently appointed to repair the damage, by former Labor Environment Minister Tony Burke, in the previous hung parliament.

That leadership group oversaw the basin plan eventually being passed into law, with the Coalition backing the ALP to sideline the Greens and deliver a more acceptable baseline target of 2750 gigalitres in sustainable diversion limits.​

Mr Glyde’s appointment is understood to have been accepted by the basin states and is backed by federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce, while stakeholders are also understood to be aware of the pending appointment.

Mr Joyce, who is overseas, and Mr Glyde both declined to comment.