Pipedream realised: Broken Hill to get water from the River Murray in $500m project

A 270-kilometre pipeline will account for the bulk of the funding.The government considered 18 other options, including buying back water rights for the more proximate Darling River from giant cotton farms in Queensland.

"Water security has been a constant challenge for Broken Hill since it was founded in 1883," NSW Premier Mike Baird said in a statement. "This unprecedented investment will provide a reliable water source for the historic township and surrounding communities for the first time in history.

"Everyone should have access to clean and secure water and this pipeline will provide certainty to businesses and residents to give this region every opportunity to prosper." 

Construction is expected to start by early 2017 and be finished late the following year. A government spokeswoman said Broken Hill would face running dry by April 2019 without the pipeline.

The cost of the pipeline would be covered in part by local residents through higher rates, although increases would be "introduced very gradually", the statement said.

However Greens water spokesman Jeremy Buckingham dubbed the investment in the 2016-17 budget as a "panic pipeline" that could signal "a death warrant for the lower Darling".

Mr Buckingham singled out comments from Deputy Premier Troy Grant, who said the pipeline reduced "the need for further buybacks of productive water" as proof the project would be a wind for "Big Cotton".

"The National Party has always wanted to hand over more water from the Darling to cotton irrigation, and now they've convinced Mike Baird to lay down $500 million to make it happen without the headache of Broken Hill running out of water," Mr Buckingham said.

Run-off from good rains in the upper Darling had been captured by the large cotton farms, such as Cubby Station in Queensland, all but choking off the river, he said.

"They've spent countless billions on the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement and it's been wasted. It's a national scandal and it should be part of the federal election campaign."

Broken Hill mayor Wincen Cuy said the pipeline would "be the lifeblood for the next 130 years".

Mr Cuy said dealing with upstream cotton growers would end up involving four states, the federal government and "powerful" groups. "Bringing the water by pipe from Wentworth [on the Murray] is the best and quickest solution for our water problems," he said.

John Williams, an adjunct professor at the Australian National University, said the Darling River "is in an awful condition at the moment" and the pipeline could assist its recovery.

The Menindee Lakes that have been a major source of water for Broken Hill had been used to capture even moderate flows down the Darling when in the past they only filled during large flood events, he said.

The lakes, though, had a major problem of evaporation, losing as much as 450 gigalitres a year of their 600 GL total capacity when full.

While the upstream cotton farmers were "not the only factor" behind Broken Hill's water issues, not dealing with their water usage "dodged" the issue, Professor Williams said.

Mr Baird said Broken Hill would tap about 10 GL of water a year from the Murray, ABC News reported. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said he hoped the plan would not damage the river, telling the ABC: "If it involves depleting and degrading the resources of the [Murray], then obviously it'll be a source of great concern to us."

Mr Cuy said emergency water supply measures had already cost about $20 million since May 2015, including a small desalination plant.

Without moderate or large inflows into the Darling, it was possible Broken Hill would run out of water by mid- to late-2019, he said.

The pipeline announcement came as the Baird government revealed it had set aside more than $90 million in the 2016-17 budget for its drought strategy.

The story ‘Pipedream realised: Broken Hill to get water from the Murray in $500m project’ originally appeared on the Sydney Morning Herald website.