Frustration flowed at MDBA water sessions

Local landholder Rachel Strachan, Tulney Point Station, said the concern was raised during a MDBA information session held at Pooncarie, NSW, last week, but fell on deaf ears.

“The MDBA is proposing to release 100 gigalitres from the Menindee Lakes next month for River Murray operations, but we have modelling that shows if that water is released, the Lower Darling River will cease to flow by September next year,” she said.

“When we have come out of a horrendous 12 months of a dry river, how they can justify making an operational call to put us back in that same position?”

The Menindee Lakes system is the town water supply of Broken Hill, NSW, and surrounding towns.

A MDBA spokesperson said it was likely to call for water “soon”.

But once the lakes storage dropped to 480GL, which it is expected to by late November, the MDBA could no longer call water for the Murray system, they said.

“As much water as is possible is held in the top two lakes (of the Menindee Lakes system), but even with the most prudent planning, more rain is required to sustain base flows in the longer term,” they said.

It said WaterNSW contingency planning for drier scenarios would include the re-construction of block banks in the Lower Darling in late 2018 to hold water, as was the case when the river began to dry up in 2015.

Mrs Strachan said it appeared the MDBA had “learned nothing” from the previous “excessive” draw down of the water from the top two lakes at Menindee.

“At the moment we have a healthy connected river – why isn’t it a priority for the MDBA to preserve that and the environmental health in the Lower Darling?” she said.

Unnecessary water releases from the Menindee Lakes was among a number of issues raised to MDBA, NSW DPI Water and federal government representatives at the meeting, along with northern irrigator compliance and the Menindee SDL Adjustment Mechanism Project.

But Mrs Strachan said the panel was unable to answer their questions, leaving the more than 100 attendees more frustrated. 

“The MDBA held these meetings to give us an update on the SDLAM, which includes the Menindee Lakes Project, but we weren’t allowed to discuss the finer details of that project,” she said.

“The Broken Hill pipeline proposal will also have the most significant impact on the water in this region, but the MDBA said the business case was still commercial in confidence.

“Yet they are asking us to make submissions of comments of concern on SDL proposals by October.”

The MDBA spokesperson said the Menindee SDLAM Project was discussed at the meeting, but that the project was at an early stage of development so not all details had been finalised.

“Both the MDBA and NSW DPI noted that further work is required before detailed changes to the operating arrangements and rules for operating the Menindee Lakes could be proposed for discussion,” they said.

“Any rule changes would need to take account of reduced demand for water storage created through the federal government’s purchase of water entitlements from Tandou Station and the proposed Broken Hill pipeline.

“NSW DPI Water representatives stated there would be a full environmental impact statement concerning the Menindee Project, which would provide further opportunity for the community to get involved.”

Public submissions for the SDLAM start on October 2 and close November 3.

A MDBA information session was also held at Menindee, attended by about 50 locals, which Menindee Regional Tourist Association president Karen Page said also left equally disheartened.

“All they talked about was the sharing of water for environmental flows, the River Murray and the Northern Basin Review,” she said.

“The River Murray has got nothing to do with our flows here at Menindee, except for it being where the proposed pipeline would draw our water from.”

Mrs Page said the local environment was being “overlooked and neglected” under the SDLAM.

“How bad is it going to get before they do something?” she said. “The future is not looking bright for us.”

Further information sessions are being held in SA next week; at Berri on Tuesday, Murray Bridge on Wednesday and Goolwa on Thursday.