NSW ignores responsibilities for wetlands, native fish and western communities. Inland Rivers Network has major concerns that the NSW Government is turning its back on native fish, waterbirds, wetlands and downstream communities by proposing new large dams with no impact assessment.
The problems of water mismanagement go back a long way, but one thing is sure, building dams then praying for rain is not a rational solution. According to Kamilaroi water scientist, Bradley Moggridge, Indigenous knowledge-holders should be “front and centre” in decision making around water.
The benefits of the state government’s $1 billion dam-building plan will likely be limited by existing rules that cap the amount of water than can be taken from catchments within the Murray-Darling Basin.
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority – the body responsible for ensuring planning decisions made in the interests of the overall basin – said the proposed upgrade of the Wyangala Dam and the new Dungowan Dam would need to operate within the state’s existing water entitlement rules.
“New or expanded dams don’t create water, but rather intercept and store large volumes of water which can then be managed as regulated releases,” Phillip Glyde, the authority’s chief executive, told the Herald.
“The MDBA is required to ensure that state governments are using no more than the long-term annual average limit of water that can be taken from individual catchments within the Basin,” he said.
ABC News 13/10/19 – Lucy Barbour
Dams have long been a part of the National Party psyche and its members believe they’re what their constituents want, expect and demand.
But dams are a tricky business. They are ecologically controversial and can take years to reach the building phase because of lengthy environmental approvals, land purchases and business cases.
And more often than not, dams in regional Australia do not provide value for money because they are designed to benefit agriculture.
“Rivers are the arteries of our planet; they are lifelines in the truest sense.”
~ Mark Angelo
What better day to get in a boat and clean the river, where we get our water from, than WORLD RIVERS DAY and CLEAN UP THE WORLD DAY.
World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways. It highlights the many values of our rivers, strives to increase public awareness, and encourages the improved stewardship of all rivers around the world. Rivers in virtually every country face an array of threats, and only through our active involvement can we ensure their health in the years ahead.
Community groups in Dubbo NSW came together and took to the water, collecting 180kg of general rubbish, tyres, bikes and seven shopping trolleys from the Macquarie River, the source of 70% of the town’s drinking water.
SMH,
By Peter Hannam
“….Drive north of Warren towards the Ramsar-listed Macquarie Marshes, though, and it’s easy to see why a lot of rain will be needed to revive the land and its remaining native flora and fauna. The Ramsar Convention is an international agreement to protect wetlands, many of them hosting migratory birds, that are important to wildlife and broader ecosytem health. Australia has 66 such Ramsar sites.
“It’s going to take floods and floods and floods – just to fill up the dams,” says Mel Gray, a convenor of the Dubbo branch of environmental group Healthy Rivers as she points to a six-metre-high embankment built near the Marshes.”
