Menindee redesign tops Basin agenda

Mr Joyce was in Broken Hill last week with Assistant Minister Anne Ruston as part of a MDB tour, which aimed to give the ministers a better understanding of water issues in the regions and key targets for the MDB Plan implementation.

They also visited Renmark in the Riverland, Mildura and Warracknabeal in Vic, Inverell and Tamworth in NSW, and St George, Qld.

"Sustainable diversion limit adjustments need to be finalised next year, so we need to get this bedded down," Ms Ruston said.

"Reviews are being undertaken in the northern basin and southern connected basin, so this is an opportunity for irrigators and stakeholders to give us their views on how we proceed forward."

Mr Joyce said their focus was on in-stream works and measures that would result in water use efficiency and "a better environmental outcome".

"And one of our biggest issues is the redesign of the Menindee Lakes storages," he said.

"It is very similar to the Lower Lakes in SA.

"More water evaporates from the Menindee Lakes than the whole of Qld uses and we have to work on fixing that.

"We have to get that working properly to be able to give the area more water security."

The Menindee Lakes storage is only at five per cent of capacity (85 gigalitres) and falling, with minimal flows coming down the system.

The lakes are the water supply for the Broken Hill and Menindee townships, as well as irrigators along the Lower Darling.

During his trip, My Joyce said upgrades at the lakes could start soon as early next year, which included closing off unproductive storages.

"I hope to get the vast majority of it underway from early next year, but I don't think completion will be next year," he told a local radio station.

Mr Joyce did assure, however, there would always be a form of water storage at the Menindee Lakes for Broken Hill and the people downstream.

"It just needs to be as effective as we can possibly make it," he said.

While in the Riverland, SA MDB NRM Board presiding member Sharon Starick queried Mr Joyce about the government's constraints management strategy.

"There is an opportunity to use environmental water more effectively and efficiently - get better bang for our buck," she said.

"Even as a South Australian, I am happy for the vast majority of constraints management funding to be used upstream because I believe that is where the biggest bang for our buck will come from.

"My only concern is whether $200 million in CMS funding is enough to make sure we use the allocated environmental water as efficiently and effectively as possible.

"That money ensures we have viable communities up and down the river."

Mr Joyce said it would be hard to get further funding, but said there could be good constraints work undertaken for little expenditure.

He also said funding allocated to the redesign of the Menindee Lakes was not part of the $200m the federal government had set aside for constraints management.

Water efficiency at SA's Lower Lakes was also debated at the Renmark meeting, with Berri fruit grower and lawyer Stuart Andrew raising concerns about the amount of money, water and resources it took to keep the lakes' semi-fresh water.

"The endeavour to keep both lakes in semi-fresh water, particularly Lake Albert, seems quite unnecessary," he said.

But Mr Joyce said that was an issue SA had to figure out itself.

"And socio-economic effects have to be part of that discussion," he said.

"You have to take irrigation out of any argument, because if you get this wrong, communities and families go broke."