Water

Water

MDBA announces basin environmental watering priorities

Over the next 12 months, environmental water will be used to protect wetlands, floodplains and river ecosystems across the Murray-Darling Basin from further damage. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority published its annual environmental watering...

Jamie Salter
Water

Seasonal determinations increase in all but one system as new water year begins

Seasonal determinations in Victoria have started higher than they finished last season in all systems except Bullarook, due to flows into the major storages in recent months. Northern Victoria’s resource manager Mark Bailey announced the first...

Rodney Woods
Water

NSW submits final water resource plans to federal minister

A major milestone in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has been reached, with NSW submitting its final nine water resource plans. Federal Water Minister Keith Pitt welcomed the plans that are an essential part of securing long-term sustainable water...

Rodney Woods
Water

Waranga Basin filled ahead of schedule

Recent rainfall across the Goulburn catchment has allowed Goulburn-Murray Water to fill Waranga Basin ahead of schedule. G-MW diverted additional water into the off-stream storage during April and early May as rainfall lowered irrigation demand and...

Rodney Woods
Water

Water lobby groups frustrated by Sefton report delay

Federal Water Minister Kieth Pitt says the long-awaited Sefton report will be released in “due course” but the wait continues to frustrate industry lobby groups. Mr Pitt said the report, which looked into the social and economic conditions impacting...

Rodney Woods
Water

Basin ministers agree to feasibility study to improve capacity of Barmah Choke

Greater transparency, limits on inter-valley trades, the benefits of investing in off-farm projects and ways to optimise capacity of the Barmah Choke were just some of the topics discussed at the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council meeting on...

Rodney Woods
Water

MINCO meeting a ‘kick in the guts’ says VFF

Friday’s Ministerial Council meeting of Murray-Darling Basin Plan water ministers has been labelled a “kick in the guts” by the VFF as irrigator groups accuse water ministers of ignoring the concerns of regional communities.

Country News
Water

SRI and former senior water bureaucrat involved in ‘ugly’ Twitter exchange

A Twitter exchange about the Murray-Darling Basin between Southern Riverina Irrigators and former Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder David Papps has been labelled “appalling” and “disgraceful” by the irrigator group. The two accounts were...

Country News
Water

Loud calls for royal commission into Murray-Darling Basin Plan

A federal royal commission into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is the only way to expose the reasons behind its failings, according to local farming and community groups. Calls have been mounting for a royal commission, with NSW Farmers calling for...

Country News
Water

New bill to target water ownership by NSW politicians

A new bill has been introduced into NSW Parliament in a bid to improve transparency around the pecuniary interests register, which outlines politicians’ financial interests, by including water ownership. NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey...

Country News
Water

New CEO for Goulburn Broken CMA

Chris Cumming has stepped into the role of Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority’s chief executive officer. Goulburn Broken CMA Board chair Helen Reynolds said Ms Cumming had extensive experience and expertise in the natural resource...

Country News
Water

Electro-fishing partnership set to relocate native fish

High-value native fish caught in irrigation channels in the Murray Valley will again be relocated as part of a continued Goulburn-Murray Water and Victorian Fisheries Authority project. After successful trials in the Murray Valley and Central...

Country News
Water

Lower fees for irrigators as new G-MW pricing structure gets the green light

Northern Victorian irrigators have called on Goulburn-Murray Water to continue to reduce fees on the back of an average 10 per cent reduction announced last week. G-MW announced customers would see the drop in their fees from July 1 as part of...

Alana Christensen
Water

Nationals need a ‘reset’ on water policy

A “reset” on water policy is needed from the Nationals, according to Central Murray Floodplain Environmental Group spokesperson Jodie Hay, who said it was time politicians stopped playing politics with water policy. Mrs Hay, who is also a member of...

Country News
Water

One size does not fit all, says Southern Riverina Irrigators

A proposed ‘Drought of Record’ legislation in NSW seeks to update water modelling to take into account more recent droughts. The motion from NSW Independent MP Justin Field was primarily made to protect town water supplies in northern...

Jamie Salter
Water

Report lists improvements for wetland management

A raft of recommendations have been proposed to improve the management of Victoria’s Ramsar-listed wetlands including Barmah Forest, Gunbower Forest and Kerang Wetlands. The parliamentary committee report tabled in Victorian Parliament on June 16...

Jamie Salter
Water

Dam levels and spill risks are rising

Northern Victorian resource manager Mark Bailey says the risk of spills is greater now than it has been for this time of year over the past few seasons. He said entitlement holders should consider this when making decisions about how to hold any...

Jamie Salter
Water

UDV and VFF want MinCo meeting to make basin plan changes

The UDV is calling for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to urgently change to ensure the dairy industry has some certainty and confidence to create the jobs needed to help Australia recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. With northern Victoria making up...

Rodney Woods

Trending stories

News

Rushworth man suffers injuries in Shepparton police cell while resisting restraint

A man suffered three fractured ribs and a collapsed lung while resisting restraint by police in custody in Shepparton late last month.

Liz Mellino
News

Campaspe records fifth COVID-19 case

CAMPASPE Shire has recorded its fifth coronavirus case. It is one of 12 new COVID-19 cases in Victoria overnight, bringing the state’s total to 1732.

Ivy Jensen
News

Fatal Cobram collision victims identified

The two young men killed in a fatal collision in Cobram on Wednesday night have been named as Nicholas Gash and Samuel Tout. The two men were travelling in a Ford sedan along the Murray Valley Hwy sometime before 11pm when the vehicle they were in...

Liz Mellino
News

Major cannabis operation found in Rochester drug bust

HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars’ worth of cannabis has been found in a drug bust in Rochester this morning.

Ivy Jensen