Water audit of Lachlan River essential - 30 November 2009

Greens MP and Water spokesperson Ian Cohen is consulting with people along the Lower Lachlan River, and Orange Councillor for the Greens Jeremy Buckingham, about the potential to establish a NSW Inquiry into Water Management along the Lachlan River.

“Community outrage is immense and from my discussions with Orange Cr Buckingham I understand there is a real feeling of injustice within some Lachlan River communities, says Mr Cohen.

“At a time when the Lachlan River is under extreme stress it is essential that critical human needs and town livelihoods are put ahead of all other water users. Water management in the Lachlan over the last 12 months has reversed this presumption. There needs to be an investigation as to whether mining and high security irrigation interests are being prioritised over critical human needs during a time of drought,” says Mr Cohen.

"Communities in the Lachlan catchment are demanding to know whether this government has placed the interests of corporate irrigators and multi-national miners in front of the environment and critical human need for water," say Mr Buckingham.

"As the impacts of this horrendous drought and climate change worsen, 91,000 forgotten people who live on the Lachlan face the prospect of being forced from their farms and communities this summer. There is anger at the failure of the NSW government to sustainably manage dwindling water resources," say Mr Buckingham.

“Two months prior to the Lachlan River closure Condobolin, State Water was releasing 500 megalitres per day from Wyangala Dam to fill orders. These orders filled allocations held by irrigation corporations who are on-selling allocations at a premium to mining operations at Cadia, North Parkes and Lake Cowal,” says Mr Cohen

“Natural lake systems such as Lake Cargelligo and regional community livelihoods are being irrevocably compromised by water management decisions that value processing gold and other minerals ahead of sustaining communities. The water wars are advancing and the small regional communities and the environment are losing out.”

“The NSW Government appears to have made a decision that it can sacrifice the natural Lake Cargelligo system by diverting water into the new man-made storage irrigation storage dam at Lake Brewster. We need to examine this decision closely and question whether it achieves the best outcome for communities along the Lachlan and the river environment.”