CRUCIAL consultation between irrigators and the NSW Office of Water will kick off this week to secure Broken Hill’s urban supply, but farmers fear the pending restrictions may be misguided.
Broken Hill’s water supply, held in Menindee Lakes, has dipped below the 18-month supply threshold.
With no rainfall on the horizon, discussions will determine embargoes on unregulated stream flows in the upper Darling Basin to secure town supply.
NSW’s Water Management Act states supply must be topped up to hold 21 months’ worth in reserve for town use.
Upstream supply, from the northern catchments of Gwydir, Border Rivers and Barwon, are in the government’s sights.
It is already tight times for irrigators in the dry north, with no supplementary licences available.
A spokeswoman for NSW Water stressed an adaptive strategy would be adopted to target flows when and where they occurred, to ensure embargoes were efficient.
The last time embargoes were placed on supplementary flows, in 2006, water evaporated or was otherwise lost before it reached the lakes, Gwydir Valley Irrigators chief executive Zara Lowien said.
In 2006-07, more than 45,000 megalitres of supplementary flows were embargoed but those restrictions did not deliver meaningful flows into Menindee Lakes, she said.
“If there is an embargo, we want to make sure it solves the drinking water supply,” she said.
According to Mrs Lowien, widespread falls delivering more than 150,000ML into the Barwon River are needed to provide good flows into Menindee.
NSW Irrigators chief executive Mark McKenzie was realistic.
“Irrigators want some surety around their cotton crops for the season, but priority is Broken Hill’s town supply,” he said.
Mr Mackenzie said additional town supplies needed to be developed.
“We welcome the Lake Menindee bore field project to supply Broken Hill and the likelihood is they will prove some water is there in the next 18 months.”
The first consultation meeting is being held today in Moree as part of the Gwydir Valley Irrigators’ annual general meeting.
