IT’S dry across much of NSW, but hope for irrigators is trickling into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
An important meeting between Basin state water ministers on Friday delivered some significant outcomes for Basin communities.
The deadline for crucial water saving engineering and infrastructure works (sustainable diversion limits (SDLs) was extended by 12 months to mid-2017 and on the table for the first time are initiatives that don’t take water (non-flow projects) but boost environment outcomes.
Like the Murray River itself, the Basin Plan is a tangle of confusing turns and tangents. But ultimately the new developments mean there’s good scope to limit the amount of water to be taken from irrigation – but only if environmental goals of the reform are met.
SDLs permit the 2750 gigalitre target of environment-boosting water to be reduced by up to 650GL if the Basin Authority approves the projects. Non-flow projects could include a new virus control of carp and engineering measures to reduce cold water pollution from dams.
NSW Water Minister Niall Blair has battled the Basin Authority’s “flow fixation” and he welcomed the meeting’s outcome.
“This means if we can fill that 650GL gap with some more projects from non-flow initiatives, Canberra won’t come into buy more productive water out of NSW.”
Projects approved under the last week’s initial deadline for SDL’s will take 370GL from the 2750GL target.
It’s welcome news for Basin communities. The Namoi Valley is in its third year with no allocation, while broadly northern and central districts are on minimal allocation and the Murray and Murrumbidgee systems need a significant boost to avoid a lean year.
NSW Irrigators is worried that if the SDL deadline wasn’t extended, the Authority would be back in the market for more buybacks.
He’s hopeful that non-flow projects like a new carp killing virus and disrupting the native fish-harming cold water outflows from dams could save hundreds of gigalitres.
“The Basin Plan’s objective is to achieve the best environmental outcomes with minimal social and economic impacts,” he said.
“That has to be better than the Authroity saying ‘the SDL’s fell short and now we’re going to strip more water from productive use’.”
The concession to consider “non-flow” water savings measures were pushed for by Mr Blair, who has made no secret of his desire to retain as much water as possible for irrigation. Now the fight shifts to the modelling – boiled down that means the difference in gigaltres between what NSW and the Authority attributes to water saving projects.
