Exasperated communities in the north are pleading with the government to knock any further water buy backs on the head, arguing alternate methods can achieve the environmental goals of the basin plan without stripping farm production in rural communities.
Moree’s mayor Katrina Humphries and St George deputy mayor Fiona Gaske said the social costs of yet more water buybacks should make bureaucrats take the option of alternate methods to the table.
The Basin Plan, in its current form, is required to recover 390 gigalitres from the northern part of the catchment. About 270GL has been recovered through a combination of buybacks and funding for on-farm and in-stream infrastructure to increase water usage efficiency.
Enough is enough, there should be no further water buy backs
- Namoi Water executive officer, Jon Maree Baker
Government should fund methods to improve the Basin’s environmental health without recovering irrigation water, councillors said.
“If the Murray Darling Basin Authority recommends to cease buybacks, will the federal government allocate money originally intended for buyback acquisition to complementary and alternate measures?” Councillor Gaske said.
Irrigator groups said just by increasing management of cold water pollution, river banks, feral animals and carp, water could meet the Basin Plan’s environmental objective.
Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association executive officer, Zara Lowien said focusing solely on water recovery was never going to be the solution and an integrated package needed to be adopted in order to achieve environmental outcomes.
“They have more than enough water now, bordering on too much,” she said.
“The government needs to stop buying water and use the money put aside for water purchase for non-flow projects which have more bang for buck.”
Namoi Water executive officer, Jon Maree Baker said the government needs to get serious about funding non-flow measures now to eliminate the risk of falling further away from environmental achievement. Ms Baker said federal water bureaucrats needed to implement these complementary methods.
“They need to recognise they are putting regional towns in jeopardy,” she said.
“Enough is enough, there should be no further water buy backs or further reduction requirements.”
Mrs Lowien said it would also be an option for the Commonwealth, which owned a large portfolio of water, to trade a small amount of it to assist in funding these crucial projects. Ms Baker said removing carp should be government’s top priority.
Cold fish and the damage done
FARMERS and irrigators across the Gwydir Valley have used humour to address a serious issue affecting their local community.
Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association executive officer, Zara Lowien directed the short film titled “Cold Fish”, aimed at highlighting the damaging effects cold water pollution is having on the Murray Darling Basin.
Mrs Lowien said the main goal of the film was to raise the point that a healthy river system didn’t solely rely on flow and complementary measures, such as cold water pollution management, could help achieve environmental outcomes.
“Water recovery was conducted to improve the health of our river,” she said.
“But we know that we will not be able to improve our native fish numbers, no matter how much water is recovered, if we do not address issues like cold water pollution.”
