Nation building requires its projects, and there’s no project more significant than the Murray-Darling Basin Plan – with its triple bottom line of delivering environmental, social and economic benefits.
Given the word ‘rival’ comes from the Latin ‘rivalis’, meaning person using the same ‘rivus’ or stream, it’s unsurprising the plan has been the cause of so much tension within the Riverina.
Management of water is set to become a major election issue in 2025, particularly against the background of the federal government’s proposed recovery of 450 gigalitres for environmental use, through controversial water buy-backs (which is partly underway) at an estimated cost of $4 billion.
The NSW Labor government (and much of the Riverina) opposes buybacks. Buybacks don’t just hurt farmers – they hurt all Australians, impacting our food and fibre security.
The NSW Government’s ‘Alternatives to Buybacks Plan’ promotes recovery of water through investment in infrastructure projects and rules-based changes.
That’s where the Lake Coolah project comes in – a rare opportunity to deliver environmental, social and agricultural outcomes and achieve consensus about how to manage one of our most precious resources – inland water.
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is slated for review by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority in 2025/2026, and an emerging theme is that we can now deliver environmental and agricultural benefits with less water – moving past a rigid fixation on numbers (of megalitres) rather than genuine environmental outcomes.
It’s also clear the system is severely restricted by natural and manmade ‘constraints’ (such as bridges, low-lying roads, private property etc) which reduce the natural flow of water – and by a lack of infrastructure to efficiently deliver stored water.
The relaxation of constraints is now receiving attention (through the NSW Government’s Reconnecting River Country Program) but the impacts on landowners remain uncertain.
What is certain is that there are very few ‘big picture’ projects that would enhance the Basin’s delivery capacity. The Lake Coolah project provides that opportunity.
As part of the federal Government’s Resilient Rivers Water Infrastructure Program, the Narrandera Shire Council has proposed a feasibility study into the enhancement of Lake Coolah/Mejum (about 12km north of Narrandera in the NSW Riverina, and within a stone’s throw of the Murrumbidgee River) as a mid-river natural reservoir for up to 450,000 megalitres.
This would decrease pressure on head-water storage, creating more ‘air space’ in the Blowering and Burrinjuck Dams, potentially making it a 900,000 megalitre storage project.
On forward estimates, the Lake Coolah project would cost 80 per cent less than the likely $4 billion buyback price tag, while creating 550 plus full-time employment opportunities during and after construction.
With additional storage both upstream and midstream, the Lake Coolah project would enable faster and more flexible deployment of water from the Murrumbidgee for environmental and agricultural flows, assisting delivery of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The increased depth of storage in Lake Coolah (compared to headwater storage) is likely to yield significant water savings, through reduced evaporation and transmission losses.
It would also decrease operating pressure on river systems when delivering the environmental flows (particularly during irrigation seasons) and associated degradation of riverbanks, and mitigate risk of floods (particularly in Wagga Wagga).
Buybacks are a zero-sum game. They perpetuate old habits of considering consumptive and environmental use as mutually exclusive.
Rather than buy-backs, the focus of Australia’s political will and resources should be on initiatives that increase our capacity to manage our rivers and enhance the available amount of water.
Lake Coolah is one of those projects. At a fraction of the cost of buybacks, and with the capacity to serve not only the environment, but also community and commerce as a shared use asset – the feasibility of the Lake Coolah project should be at the top of the NSW Government’s list in 2025.
Yours etc.
John Nikolic, president Griffith Business Chamber
Doug Curran, Mayor Griffith City Council
Glen Andreazza, NSW Farmers Griffith region branch chair
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