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THURSDAY 19 September 2019
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Councils, Govt tackle Water crisis
With rivers running dry and cities and towns across the State predicted to run out of water in the forseeable future, the State Government and local councils, including Cabonne, Orange and Blayney are engaged in planning and negotiations over remedial and short term measures to make the best use of water stocks. WaterNSW is reported as warning without significant rain, Macquarie River will run dry, wiping out supply to Dubbo, Cobar, Nyngan and Narromine Parts of regional New South Wales could run out of water as early as November with data showing the worstcase scenario for the state if there’s no rain or government intervention. The Macquarie River has an average inflow of 1,448GL annually but in the past two years has seen just 97GL entered the river system. It has been described as a “critical” situation by the NSW water minister, Melinda Pavey, who told reporters in Canberra on Sunday the government is doing “everything humanly possible” to make sure the state gets through this devastating drought. The NSW government has committed $130m for extra bores and pipelines to reduce water lost in transmission,
she said, citing a pipeline to extend Tamworth’s water supply by 18 months and $30m for bores in Dubbo. The data shows that Menindee Lakes – which is a source of flows for the Lower Darling and is a vital fish nursery – received just six gigalitres of water in the past year. It’s annual inflow average is 1,387GL. Under a worst-case scenario, it has been reported that the Lachlan River may run dry by March 2020, leaving the towns of Forbes, Cowra and Parkes without water supply. However the Chair of Central NSW Councils, ” Cr Medcalf disputes this saying “Councils in this region and all along the Lachlan are responsible and experienced water utilities. “The current water sharing regime for the Lachlan, which has been in place since July, sees water till mid 2021. Advice from the State, which is regularly updated, informs communities on when they need to trigger water restrictions. More steps will be put in place where Wyangala is currently at 23.6%,” said Cr Medcalf. “The communities of the Lachlan will not run out of water in March 2020 and we are very disappointed that we are getting updated on State activities through the press. The river is the fourth-longest in Australia and annually
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receives an average of 1,212GL of water but in the last year recorded inflows of just 107GL. Pavey said that Dubbo’s Burrendong dam only has 4.5% water left in it, although it could provide a further 21GL below that empty level. “But we need to find some more water in the bores around Dubbo – and we’re confident of doing that – it’s a very marshy area, there’s a lot of underground supplies there … but it is a challenge,” she said. As far as Cabonne, Orange and Blayney are concerned the predicament is the same as across other areas of the State. The three councils have their heads down looking at a number of short, medium and long term options to secure Shire's water supply into the future. Cabonne is in negotiations with a number of stakeholders including the NSW Government, the Central NSW Joint Organisation of Councils, Central Tablelands Water and Orange Council. No agreements are finalised but an announcement is expected very soon.
Molong residents urged to continue water saving efforts Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty has thanked Molong residents for the efforts they have made to save water, but says a greater effort will be needed as summer approaches. Cr Beatty said Cabonne Council was considering a number of short, medium and long-term initiatives to provide water security for the Shire in the future. This includes meeting the immediate challenge and providing a water security network to cater for long-term needs. The Mayor said Council appreciated residents’ endeavours to save water and comply with the current Level 4 restrictions, but there may be a need for a higher level
of restrictions as the weather warms up. “There have been few measurable flows into Molong Creek Dam, which is approaching its lowest level since 2001,” he said. “Hopefully Tuesday’s rain will result in some additional flows into the dam, but at the moment the most effective way to ensure we have enough water for everyone and to delay even tougher restrictions is to continue put water saving measures into place wherever possible.” Cr Beatty urged residents to go to the Council’s website or Facebook page to get some handy water saving tips.
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