Irrigators in the northern basin will face tighter conditions for floodplain harvesting under new rules introduced by the NSW Government, which has raised the threshold at which water access is permitted.

Under the previous framework, irrigators could capture water from floodplains once the Menindee Lakes system held 195 gigalitres. That trigger has now been lifted to 250 gigalitres, meaning harvesting cannot proceed until the lakes are more substantially filled. The change is aimed at better protecting downstream communities and the ecological health of the Lower Darling-Baaka River, which has suffered repeated damage from low flows, algal blooms and fish deaths in recent years.

For communities across the Far West, including Menindee, Wilcannia and Broken Hill, the health of the lakes is directly tied to town water supply security and the long-term future of the river. The tighter threshold represents a shift in how the state weighs upstream agricultural interests against downstream community and environmental needs.

This article appeared on Back Country Bulletin on 27 March 2026.