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Media Release - Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Deniliquin: 30 September 2005 MURRAY VALLEY IRRIGATORS CLOSE TO FOREST PAYBACK
Regional Director of the NSW Department of Natural Resources, David Harriss, announced today general security allocations for NSW Murray Valley irrigators will remain at 30 percent of entitlement but the prospect of increases in the coming weeks is high.
Hume Dam is now storing 80 percent of capacity and Dartmouth 57 percent compared to this time last year when the dams were 45 and 50 percent respectively.
The inflows to Hume and Dartmouth Dams that has occurred from last week’s rain resulted in a significant increase of 160 GL in water available to New South Wales that has been used to repay the water borrowed from the Barmah-Millewa Forest account.
Under the agreed operating rules for the Barmah-Millewa Forest, any improvement in water availability to NSW now the general security allocation has reached 30 percent of entitlement is set aside to repay the environmental water account that has previously been reallocated for irrigation. Currently 189 GL has been repaid to the Forest account, a further 76 GL needs to be credited to the account before allocations can be increased.
Inflow from Wednesday night’s rain has not been assessed but is likely to fully payback the Forest water account. Any additional water will be used to increase water availability to general security irrigators and meet our statutory reserves.
A further interim assessment will be undertaken next week.
© NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources
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