Water

The Authority commended the ongoing efforts of the MDBA river operators to provide significant flood mitigation for communities downstream of Hume Dam, with twice the volume of the dam's capacity having been carefully released over the past 6 months to manage downstream flows. This has enabled the peak outflow from Hume Dam to be moderated throughout winter and spring.

Even with more than 100,000 megalitres a day crossing the South Australian border, SA Water closed the barrages due to seawater flowing into the freshwater estuary. SA Water satellite imagery also shows the current flooding is still not moving down the Coorong. The real risk of constraints relaxation may be felt closer to home. The modification of the Barmah Choke has been seen as the crown jewel for accessing held environmental water. The choke protects Echuca-Moama and Koondrook-Barham from large Murray floods from Hume Dam, currently on display with the flows heading north down the Edward-Wakool system ... Community concerns over constraints relaxation flooding farmers and potentially impacting townships has been labelled as scaremongering by MDBA Chief Executive Andrew McConville.

The Victorian Farmers Federation has expressed outrage towards the comments made by Murray Darling Basin Authority Chief Executive Andrew McConville in his Rural Press Club address, 10 years after the Basin Plan gave the green light to take water from farming communities. VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy said Mr McConville’s commentary ignored the ongoing impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan on farming communities and sounded like it was designed to appease the Federal Labor government ... “We expect the MDBA CEO to be professional and impartial, not a political sycophant. It seems he needs to re-read the Basin Plan as he forgot to mention in his speech that the 450GL is only possible if there are no negative social and economic impacts”.

Cambooya, Greenmount and Nobby are set to be connected to the Toowoomba to Warwick pipeline after Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) gave its approval last week, subject to conditions. The pipeline will see the townships of Cambooya, Greenmount and Nobby, as well as Clifton, connected to treated water supplied from Wivenhoe Dam via Toowoomba.

Both the Narrandera Shire Council Mayor Neville Kschenka and General Manager George Cowan will lobby the State and Federal Governments for funding for upgrades to highways as well as the town’s water supply and stormwater systems ... Submissions will be lodged with the NSW Government seeking support for routine flood damage repairs, highlighting the importance of betterment to the Newell and Sturt Highways and the Narrandera town water supply and stormwater systems.

The NSW Government has reaffirmed its opposition to non-strategic water buybacks being used to meet water recovery targets as part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan ... Mr Anderson said the NSW Government welcomes the Commonwealth correcting the record and reaffirming there is no open round of buybacks being undertaken. “We have seen first-hand the negative long-term impact non-strategic buybacks have had on our communities and we want to avoid this,” Mr Anderson said.

Mildura Rural City Council. Work is about to start on a major project to reinforce or establish levees along a three-kilometre stretch of riverfront ... Working under the direction of lead agency the Victorian State Emergency Service, Council will reinforce or add to existing earthen levees along a 1.5-kilometre stretch of riverfront near Flora Avenue and Ranfurly Way to protect against predicted peak flood levels.

The state’s peak farming group has slammed secret water buyback plans that will hurt rural communities in NSW. On Friday afternoon The Land revealed state water ministers had agreed to almost 50 gigalitres of water buybacks at last month’s Ministerial Council meeting, with most of that water coming from NSW.