The Lachlan Valley should see some irrigated cropping this summer with the announcement of a 115 per cent general security water allocation.
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The news has been welcomed by Lachlan Valley Water chair Tom Green, who said it guarantees local irrigators two years of full production.
The water allocation, combined with the low price of wheat, should see more local irrigators put in summer crops this season.
“We will probably see some maize and various beans back in,” Mr Green said.
“West and downstream, the whole way down the river, we will see a lot of cotton.”
Irrigators on the Lachlan last received a 136 per cent allocation in 2012, when the river flooded. Before that it had been a good 10 years between drinks.
Mr Green says this allocation is good news for irrigator confidence: two years of production guaranteed and probably something towards a third year.
“Even if we get 70 per cent or 80 per cent the third year, it gives people some confidence,” Mr Green said.
Irrigators also recently welcomed the announcement of a review of the translucent flow rules in the Lachlan Valley Water Sharing Plan.
In 2015, after three dry years, 72,800ML was released to the environment.
Irrigators got a 25 per cent general security allocation – but if the water had been stored that could have been 35 per cent.
Irrigators can hold a maximum 136 per cent of their annual licence and Mr Green said accounts might get topped up to that before the start of the irrigation season on October 1.
The account reset – which does mean that water remaining in allocation accounts is withdrawn - was triggered by airspace operations by Water NSW at Wyangala Dam earlier in the month.
On Tuesday August 2, Water NSW began releasing 700ML per day from Wyangala.
This was based on there being an 80 per cent chance of the storage being full or spilling prior to significant irrigation demand.
Wyangala is at 92 per cent capacity, up from a lot of 38 per cent in early June.
A whopping 423,000 megalitres of water flowed into the dam in July – 35 per cent of its full storage volume – during consistent July rains.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a 70 to 75 per cent chance of median rainfall levels being exceeded in the Lachlan Valley between August and October.
