WATER IS set to naturally wash out of the gigantic Split Rock Dam and downstream to Lake Keepit as the water source laps at its edges with more rain on the horizon.
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It's been more than two decades since Split Rock Dam last filled up back in 2000. It was sitting at 98.4 per cent capacity on Friday afternoon.
A Water NSW spokesperson told the Leader the authority is managing the rising level by releasing more water from Lake Keepit to make space for inflows.
The spokesperson said releases from Keepit Dam had doubled from 5000ML per day to 10,000ML per day as of Thursday.
That means about 4000 Olympic swimming pools worth of water is now gushing out the dam gates and down the Namoi River each day.
"When Split Rock fills and spills, the water from Split Rock will move into Keepit," they said.
"As a result, more releases can be expected from Keepit."
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The idea is to create space in the dam before wet weather strikes again, to avoid the need for larger releases in the immediate aftermath of a rain event and the inflows it may bring.
Split Rock Dam, near Manilla, has a water capacity of more than half of Sydney Harbour.
It was at just 0.8 per cent at the start of 2020, just a drop less than 10 per cent at the start of 2021 and started this year at about 70 per cent.
Water NSW is releasing a trickle of water at the moment and said no larger releases will be made before Split Rock Dam hits 100 per cent.
It's a rare but welcome sight for the dam - a popular spot for campers and fishers - to be inching towards being full.
Manilla Fish Hatchery manager Ian Ward said the drought was hard when the dam dropped to almost empty.
"If we go back to the drought years when the dams were completely drained ... the fish kills at that time were outlandish," he said.
"The result of that was all the breeding fish ceased to exist."
He told the Leader that for a breeding program and natural spawning the water level had to be either stable or rising - something that has now happened at both Split Rock Dam and Lake Keepit.
But the lingering effects of the prolonged drought will still be felt, as Mr Ward said the likelihood of actually catching a decent fish hook, line and sinker weren't great.
"The only fish that have come back into the system in the last few years were the fish that were put in by the Department of Primary Industries and the ones that we put in. And, none of those fish are probably big enough yet to breed," he said.
Mark Kriedemann
I take a particular interest in industry, environment, science, and technology subjects. Besides studies in media, my tertiary education covers genetics, as well as International Relations. I therefore strive to draw links between these varying disciplines to give a comprehensive analysis of developments in industry, agriculture, and the associated politics.
I take a particular interest in industry, environment, science, and technology subjects. Besides studies in media, my tertiary education covers genetics, as well as International Relations. I therefore strive to draw links between these varying disciplines to give a comprehensive analysis of developments in industry, agriculture, and the associated politics.
