Lachlan valley water calls out water strategy

The announcement of the Lachlan Regional Water Strategy just before Christmas has been labelled a “lump of coal” by Lachlan Valley Water Executive Officer Glenn Daley, who said the plan provides no tangible strategies for water security within the region. According to the Lachlan Regional Water Strategy Executive Summary “The Lachlan Regional Water Strategy provides a long-term strategic plan to enable communities, the environment and industries to be better prepared for a changing climate.” The strategy proposes three priorities; to build resilience to climate extremes, improve Catchment Health, and support the water needs of a strong and sustainable economy. Each priority has between six and nine sub priorities. “These priorities would be great if only there were actions to actually deliver them” Daley said, “there’s not one tangible project or priority that will directly result in better water security for the region. The report is filled with suggestions for more investigations, more studies, more modelling etc etc – it’s essentially a report to say they need to do more reports.” The strategy document proposes to deliver outcomes in either up to 5-years, or between 5-20 years, with the vast majority of outcomes falling under the “currently unfunded” 5-20 year timeframe. Lachlan Valley Water Chairman Tom Green said: “They’ve had 4 years to come up with the strategy document, and what they’ve given us is disgraceful. This is the latest in a series of underwhelming pieces of work from the Department.” Green says further “it’s been some 15 months since they quashed the Wyangala Dam wall raising project, a project which would have actually provided some resilience and mitigation to the valley, and nothing has been provided in the strategy to replace it. The NSW Water Minister should be embarrassed at how her department is operating.” The strategy was released by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCCEEW NSW) as the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) considers a pricing proposal by the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC) to increase prices for water users by up to 200%. DCCEEW NSW falls under the umbrella of WAMC. Those impacted by water using strategies, or wanting to learn more, have been encouraged to contact Lachlan Valley Water Executive Officer Glenn Daley or Lachlan Valley Water Executive Committee Chairman, Tom Green. Lachlan Valley Water (LVW) is the valley-based industry organisation representing surface water and groundwater users in the Lachlan and Belubula valleys. Their members include irrigators, stock and domestic water users, other industries including mining, landholders exercising basic land rights and all categories of licences except for those held by environmental water managers.