Bellinger River Drought overview Michael Wrathall 11 March 2020 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Bellinger River Drought overview

11 March 2020 Michael Wrathall Water Drought Coordinator

Rainfall

• Since January 2017, rainfall has been

the lowest on record for NSW

• 2019 was the driest year on record

for New South Wales

• Total rainfall in 2019 was 55% below

average; well below the previous driest year of 1944

Temperature

• 2019 was the warmest year on record for

New South Wales

• The 2017, 2018 and 2019 calendar years

were the warmest on record in NSW

Combined drought metrics

• Only minor easing of drought

conditions from February 2020 rainfall

• 98.5% of NSW is still in drought (3

March 2020)

Water storages

• Major rural NSW water storages

are 23.6% of capacity on average as at 2 March 2020:

• 7% in the north (mid-Jan: 3.6%)
• 14% in central valleys (11%)
• 35% in the south (39%)
• 41% along the coast (38%)

NSW Extreme Events Policy

In most times, the Water Management Act 2000 prioritises:

• 1. Protection of the water source and water for basic landholder rights
• 2. Town water, domestic and stock, major utility licences
• 3. Regulated river high security licences
• 4. General security licences
• 5. Supplementary licences

When a water sharing plan has been suspended or a town water supply is critically low, core domestic and essential town water needs become first priority.

Priorities for water sharing

Extreme event stages

Page 9

The policy sets out the 4 stages for managing extreme events and the criteria

Stage Water quantity Water quality Stage 1 Normal management Continue to deliver water as normal Raw water can be treated with usual methods Stage 2 Emerging water shortage Operational surface water measures to conserve supplies Potential or actual impacts on groundwater Minor adjustments to treat raw water Stage 3 Severe water shortage Restrictions on water for:

∙

High priority licences

∙

General security licences Unacceptable groundwater impacts Major adjustments are needed to treat raw water Stage 4 Critical water shortage Water only available for critical human needs Restrictions on all licences Risk to long term availability of the groundwater resources Not possible to treat raw water with standard processes Raw water likely to remain untreatable over the longer term

Input into water management decision

Critical Water Technical Advisory Group

Water management decision

Water resource assessment ROSCCO Local water utilities Critical needs of environment Critical Water Advisory Panel Public sessions

Managing in NSW rivers

• Carryover water was restricted or

suspended in 8 out of a total 11 inland river valleys

• High priority allocations are less than the

usual 95-100% in six valleys

• Groundwater allocations are reduced in 8

water sources

• Deliveries were fully ceased in the Lower

Namoi and Lower Darling

• Deliveries were partially ceased in the

Macquarie, NSW Border Rivers & Peel

Drought stage Stage 1: Normal

• perations

Stage 2: Emerging drought Stage 3: Severe drought Stage 4: Critical drought

Temporary water restrictions

https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/allocat ions-availability/temporary-water-restrictions

Daily mean flow at Thora since 1982 (ML/d)

Minimum 1 99% 16 95% 33 90% 49 80% 75 70% 105 60% 142 50% 188 40% 256 30% 382 20% 597 10% 1,128 5% 2,095 1% 7,167 Maximum 125,547

Bellinger river flows

On 11 Dec 2019

6-mth moving ave flow at Thora since 1982

Minimum 29 99% 45 95% 93 90% 130 80% 182 70% 251 60% 316 50% 405 40% 534 30% 746 20% 1,024 10% 1,611 5% 2,013 1% 4,023 Maximum 4,263

Bellinger river flows

On 17 Jan 2020

How else we’re responding

Securing water for communities and farmers

Funding

• More than $3 billion to drought relief for farmers and rural

communities and town water security projects since 2017

• Further information: droughthub.nsw.gov.au or call Rural

Assistance Authority 1800 618 593

• For regional towns, this includes funding for 60 bores

across 23 communities and 14 pipelines, such as Wentworth to Broken Hill

Coordination

• Regional Town Water Supply Coordinator and

steering committee meetings with Councils where supply at risk

• Office of Drought Response – reporting to

Deputy Premier

• Technical and financial support for local councils

– DPIE Water

Water Supply (Critical Needs) Act 2019

Fast-tracking of:

• works for critical town water supply such as

pipeline from Chaffey Dam to Tamworth

• planning processes for major dams such as

new Dungowan Dam, raising of Wyangala Dam and proposed Mole River dam

Public meetings

• Four roadshows:
• Feb, May/Jun and Oct/Nov 2019
• Feb/Mar 2020
• 38 meetings
• 23 different regional locations
• Over 1,000 attendees

Responding to community requests

Drought issues along coastal NSW

• Rivers running dry for the first time in living memory
• Lack of forewarning for dry rivers
• Many businesses, landholders and towns without adequate

back-up supplies

• Rapid drought onset and slow groundwater application times
• Water quality impacts, especially bushfire-related

Groundwater and water quality

Groundwater: impacts of drought

• Managed to a long term extraction limit
• allocations based on extractions, not water availability
• reductions occur if extractions exceed long term limit over

a 3 or 5 year rolling average

• Most aquifers have 100% allocations for 2019/20
• Important backup drought supply
• water levels will drop during dry periods
• due to reduced recharge and increased extraction
• recovery during wetter conditions and reduced pumping
• Water levels are monitored, if excessive declines:
• can implement temporary local water restrictions
• distance from other users are considered for new bores
• may have extraction limits on bores & distance conditions

Groundwater: bore and trade applications

• Significant increase in applications;

double pre-drought

• If a hydrogeological impact

assessment is required:

• Basic landholder rights bore

applications: 5–10 days

• temporary trades: 2–3 weeks
• permanent trades, new bores,

extraction limit reviews: 4–6* months – processes in place to reduce this to 3 months Process Improvements:

• Additional hydrogeologists employed
• Improved information exchange between WNSW & DPIE-Water
• New prioritisation of applications
• WaterNSW customer web-based tracking process

Water quality risks

• Key risks include:
• algal blooms
• mobilisation of salinity with inflows
• blackwater events
• stratification of stagnant

waterbodies

• decreased oxygen
• For information on water quality for

stock and water testing go to the NSW DroughtHub.

• For information on identifying, reporting

and current algal alerts go to Algae page on WaterNSW’s website. Algal alerts in NSW

26 February 2020

More information

DPIE Water

• Allocations
• NSW Extreme events policy
• Temporary water restrictions
• Water sharing plan suspensions
• Critical Water Advisory Panels

www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water WaterNSW

• NSW water availability: greater

Sydney & regional

• Valley updates
• Algal alerts
• River Operations Stakeholder

Consultation Committees www.waternsw.com.au DPI Agriculture

• Available drought assistance
• Drought maps
• State seasonal updates
• Managing farm businesses in drought
• Wellbeing – supporting mental health

www.droughthub.nsw.gov.au

More information: websites

More information: water updates

Website: www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water Email updates: www.industry.nsw.gov.au/media/subscribe

More information: drought update

North Coast Regional Water Strategy

• Twelve strategies
• Long-term water resource resilience
• Key planning framework for water

management

• 20 year strategies – adaptive, staged
• Greater Hunter strategy released in

2018

• Draft strategies for all regions due in

2020

What are regional water strategies

• Improve our understanding of climate

variability and change

• Allow communities and government to

better understand and respond to water management challenges

• Meet the current and future needs of

water users through policy, planning and infrastructure

What are regional water strategies

Resilient water resources for towns and communities, the environment, Aboriginal communities and industry

What we are trying to achieve

DELIVER AND MANAGE WATER FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Improve water security, water quality and flood management for regional towns communities

ENABLE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

Improve water access reliability for regional industries

RECOGNISE AND PROTECT ABORIGINAL CULTURAL VALUES AND RIGHTS

Including Indigenous heritage assets

PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE ENVIRONMENT

Improve the health and integrity of environmental systems and assets, including by improving water quality

AFFORDABILITY

Identify least cost policy and infrastructure options

North Coast Region

• Catchments of the Clarence, Macleay, Bellinger, Nambucca and

Hastings Rivers

• Traditional custodians of the region include the:
• Gumbaynggirr people (Bellinger, Nambucca & Coffs Harbour)
• Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl people (Clarence valley)
• Dhungutti people (Macleay valley)
• Birpai people (Hastings valley)
• Home to approximately 300,000 people, esp. in the regional centres of

Grafton, Port Macquarie, Armidale, Coffs Harbour and Kempsey

• Region’s water sources vital for:
• Population growth, as well as peak summer tourist demands
• Agricultural growth and diversification
• Forestry, construction, manufacturing, mining and tourism
• Waterway and estuary environmental health
• Supporting cultural values

North Coast strategy timeline

September / October 2020 August 2021

Questions/discussion

More information: drought and water quality

Fact sheets, including:

• Options for alternative

water supplies

• GW allocations
• Bushfires & water quality

Fish management

• Increasing risk of fish deaths over summer: low flows, poor quality water

and rising temperatures

• $10 million program of fish rescue and relocation, artificial aeration of

refuge pools and environmental water delivery (where possible)

• In the Macquarie over 80 drought refuge pools have been mapped -

similar actions underway in other catchments

• Over 1,100 adult Murray cod and Golden perch have been rescued from

drying pools in the Lower Darling

• Over 100,000 Murray cod fingerlings have been produced at the

Narrandera hatchery from just 20 fish rescued during the 2018/19 fish death events

• Large-scale aeration projects in the Lower Darling, Macquarie and

Namoi to support fish in remnant habitats

• DPI Fisheries has established valley-based committees for expert advice
• To report fish deaths, call the Fishers Watch hotline: 1800 043 536

Extreme Events Policy principles

Page 38

How decisions are made

Objectives High priority water needs Available supplies Management

• ptions

Decision