WATER embargoes were a hot topic in Moree this week as the recently appointed Minister for Lands, Water and Primary Industries, Niall Blair, arrived on Tuesday.
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Cotton producers to the north west of Moree have found themselves with bound hands as flows from significant rainfall to the east make their way west through the Murray-Darling basin, reserved for the dire water crisis at Menindee and Broken Hill.
The central NSW region has been serviced by a series of four large, shallow evaporation lakes and as severe drought conditions continue, after numerous years in some areas, the availability of water is becoming critically scarce.
In April, this year, the total water storage for the Menindee Lakes, which supplies drinking water to Broken Hill had fallen to four per cent, as groundwater exploration and emergency bore drilling continues in attempts to address the short-term water emergency.
Further north, in the local area, cotton producers are struggling under extended drought conditions and an imposing El Nino period, forecasting continued hot, dry conditions to come.
According to recent reports from Cotton Australia, producers relying on the Border and Gwydir Rivers have already forgone access to over 27,000 mega-litres under embargo conditions, placing considerable tension on the regional industry as harvest continues.
At Ashley, the Auscott cotton farms employ upwards of 100 people and rely on thousands of mega-litres to harvest viable crops - water that is currently out of reach as drought conditions continue at varying levels of severity across the state.
Minister Blair met with Auscott representatives on Tuesday to discuss future water security across the state.
“It is my job to meet with stakeholders so that we can come up with solutions that are beneficial to all,” Mr Blair said.
“We are facing drought, which is something that puts the primary industry side of my portfolio on the forefront.”
Mr Blair gained the Lands and Water portfolio after the March election, taking up the post in the wake of Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries.
He said water security, native vegetation regulations and outlining a sustainable Murray-Darling Basin management plan were firmly at the top of his ministerial agenda.
“They are the things that are standing out, but it is about picking up the good work that people like Kevin have done and continuing on, and I am pretty confident that we will get some good outcomes,” he said.
During his visit, Mr Blair was particularly concerned with the availability and distribution of water resources as embargoes continued.
“We need to make sure that we address the critical human supply issues in Broken Hill. That is something we are working very hard at achieving as soon as possible and once we have done that, we will be in a position to be able to lift those embargos.”
As cotton industry advocates note multi-million dollar industry losses under embargoes, and human supply reaches critical levels in areas to the south, the task of dividing water resources around the state continues to challenge producers, the community and the government.