There is growing concern for the future of Old Man Creek at Collungullie, west of Wagga Wagga.
A family’s meticulous records spanning generations is spurring anger and frustration at management of the area’s riparian system that is part of the Murray-Darling system.
Sisters Judy Bailey and Pip Goldman are the fourth generation to live on their property at Collungulllie.
“This is where the sulky crossing used to be”, said Mrs Bailey.
“During the last drought you could see the sleepers laid on the bottom and on this southern side, there was a gentle slope so the horses could easily cross. Now, it is a five-metre high bank, so nothing can get across.”
Mrs Goldman’s husband, David, a former valuer with the NSW government, has been critical of the water accounting practices used by the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) since the inception of the Water Act in 2007.
“The Act was created on the premise the River Murray was dying during the height of the millennium drought. Of course the water levels were lower as there wasn’t much rain for years, so dams and rivers dry up, that is perfectly natural,” Mr Goldman said.
“But this Act was introduced based on flawed and corrupt science including that the estuarine Coorong section at the River Murray’s mouth could only be kept open by frequent, fast pulses of fresh water from it and the Murrumbidgee river.
“As a result of these environmental flows, which are more frequent than naturally occurring floods, with higher volumes and flow rates, this creek is crumbling in at a rate of about half a metre each year,” he said.
“This is not the only waterway being gutted and destroyed in this manner and, despite innumerable meetings with politicians and executive of the MDBA, they refuse to listen to people being affected by their policies.
“The MDBA claim they implement policies so the triple bottom line is the outcome. From our experiences here . . . there is no interest in what we landholders think as MDBA personnel have not displayed any genuine interest in what is happening on the ground,” said Mr Goldman.