UPDATED 4:00pm WATER management in the bush will come under the spotlight, as NSW parliament launches an Upper House inquiry into the government’s management of supply in rural and regional areas.
Shooters and Fishers members of the Upper House will lead the inquiry, after months of wrangling, with Labor pushing for an investigation of Broken Hill’s water resources while government opposed the move as unnecessary.
But the inquiry is now underway and has been given a broad brief. Public submissions are open until June 19.
The inquiry will investigate:
- Demand and supply for the state projected until the middle of this century.
- Suitability of existing NSW water storages and any future schemes for augmentation of water supply, including the potential for aquifer recharge
- Government’s response to the recommendations of the 2013 report by the Standing Committee on State Development on the adequacy of water storages in New South Wales
- The 50 year flood history in NSW, particularly on the North Coast.
- Flood mitigation technology and infrastructure needed for diversions
- Social, economic and environmental aspects of water management, including case studies of Broken Hill and Menindee Lakes, in the South West and North West NSW
- Management of environmental water
- Reporting issues related to inter-valley transfers, conveyance, carryover and the water market broadly
Shooters MLC Robert Brown said water is critical for the viability of rural and regional areas of NSW.
“This committee will undertake a comprehensive inquiry over the next 18 months and encourages participation from all stakeholders and community members,” he said.
Broken Hill water supply is likely to be one of the more controversial issues investigated by the inquiry.
Locals had called for the government to investigate the management of the Darling River and the Menindee Lakes since 2013.
The Murray Darling Basin Authority released water from the lakes in December 2013, prompting a campaign from a prominent residents’ action group which argues the water release contributed to Menindee Lakes running dry, and Broken Hill relying on bore water for residential use.
The committee report is due by October 27 2017.
