REVEALED: The shocking reason 22 BILLION litres of precious water was flushed into a swamp while desperate farmers watched in horror
- Twenty-two billion litres of water has been flushed down NSW’s Lachlan River
- Critics have hit out the move at a time when the state is in almost total drought
- The water could have sustained the 30,000 people in nearby towns for a year
- State government said increased flow on the Lachlan is needed for its survival
Twenty-two billion litres of precious water have been flushed into a swamp in one of Australia’s most drought-stricken regions.
The New South Wales state government started releasing 22 gigalitres of water from Wyangala Dam from the middle of last month.
The move was intended to help increase flow to the heavily parched Lachlan River and its tributaries.
But the decision has been criticised because the water has been used without consulting farmers.
Twenty-two billion litres of precious water has been flushed from the critical Wyangala Dam (pictured) into a swamp in one of Australia’s most drought-stricken regions
The NSW state government started releasing 22 gigalitres of water has been released from Wyangala Dam from the middle of last month
The dam has seen its water level fall by 20 per cent as a result and the state’s water minister has questioned the timing of the release.
‘I would like to see evidence this was the best time to release water for the environment when the Bureau of Meteorology is indicating little to no inflows over the next 12 months,’ NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey said.
The water released from the dam could have sustained 30,000 people living in nearby towns including Cowra and Forbes for over a year.
Instead it will make its journey west down the river to the Great Cumbung Swamp where the Lachlan River ends.
The government agency which operates the state’s rivers said in a statement the water release was critical to the survival of the rivers flowing out of the dam.
The Commonwealth Environment Water Holder said the water was vital to improving the health of the river system along the length of the Lachlan River.
The decision was intended to help increase flow to the heavily parched Lachlan River and its tributaries but has been fiercely criticised (pictured a farmer walking near the shells of dead mussels on the riverbed of the dried-up Naomi River in the state’s north-west)
A senior green agency source also told The Daily Telegraph the increased supply to the river system would benefit the resident catfish and freshwater shrimp.
But Ms Pavey said ‘during times of extreme drought we need flexibility, not blind recklessness’.
The partial opening of the dam has dropped its capacity to about 18 per cent, compared to 23 per cent at the beginning of last month.
The dam is already subject to a proposal to raise its walls by 10 metres at a cost of $650million.
The river stretches almost 1,500km across New South Wales’ south and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin which has faced brutal drought conditions in recent years.
The Murray-Darling Basin has faced brutal drought conditions in recent years (pictured a dried up riverbed where the Mehi River previously flowed in north-western New South Wales last month)