Lachlan Shire Council

Home , Condobolin, Lachlan Shire, Shannon Noll, Tullibigeal

The Heart of NSW

Contact Person: Phil King

25 September 2015

The Secretary Select Committee on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan PO Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2615

Dear Sir/Madam

Re: SUBMISSION - SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN PLAN

Please find attached the submission to the Select Committee on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) from Lachlan Shire Council.

This submission provides an overview of Lachlan Local Government Area (LGA), a brief discussion of the importance of the Lachlan River to the communities of the Lachlan Shire and consideration of the social, economic and environmental impacts of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on our communities.

The Lachlan River is vital to the communities of the Lachlan Shire. It provides life giving water for consumption, recreation, agriculture and industry. Recognition of the environmental importance of Lake Cargelligo in the Lachlan River Valley and a commitment to provide regular flows through this lake system is overdue and ought to be addressed as part of this inquiry.

Furthermore there are significant concerns that the NSW Government plan for a dam on the Belubula River will have a significant impact on natural tributary flows into the Lachlan River system. The construction of this additional storage is not foreshadowed in the MDBP and will have a significant impact on environmental flows to areas such as Lake Cargelligo.

Yours sincerely,

Phil King

DIRECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

Lachlan Shire Council

P PO Box 216 Condobolin NSW 2877 A 58-64 Molong Street Condobolin NSW 2877 T (02) 6895 1900 F (02) 6895 3478 E [email protected] W www.lachlan.nsw.gov.au ABN 82 815 250 829

Lachlan Shire Council SUBMISSION to Select Committee on the MURRAY-DARLING BASIN PLAN

September 2015

Lake Cargelligo Sunrise CONTACT DETAILS

Council Name Lachlan Shire Council Address 58-64 Molong Street Condobolin Contact Person Phil King, Director Infrastructure Services Email [email protected] Telephone 02 6895 1900 Fax 02 6895 3478 Mayor Councillor John Medcalf General Manager Robert Hunt Brief Details

Total Population – Council area 6457 Population – Urban 5100 (est.) Population – Rural 1357 (est.) Council area (sq.km) 14,973 sq. Km. No. of Staff 132 FTE’s Value of Assets $198 M

Page | 2 Index

CONTACT DETAILS ...... 2 WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE ...... 4 CURRENT USAGE LACHLAN RIVER ...... 5 IMPLEMENTATION OF MURRAY DARLING BASIN PLAN ...... 9 CONCLUSION ...... 14

Page | 3 WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE

Lachlan Shire Council is geographically The Heart of NSW . Located in the state’s Central West, Condobolin is the largest town in the Shire located 560km west from the states capital Sydney. The Shire covers an area of 15,000 square kilometres with the main towns and villages being:

• Condobolin • Lake Cargelligo • Tottenham • Tullibigeal • Burcher • Derriwong • Albert • Fifield.

Lachlan is home to almost 7,000 residents. It is positioned in Wiradjuri Country with over 16% of the Shire’s total population identifying as Indigenous in the 2011 Census.

The Shire is the home to many traditional farming cultures and is one of the largest grain producing areas of NSW. It is a rich agricultural area and in addition to grain its significance needs to be acknowledged in the areas of sheep, wool, beef and cotton.

Lachlan Shire Council manages the largest road network of any council in the entire state, responsible for maintaining a massive 4,000 kilometres of roads.

The majority of Lachlan Shire Council operates within the Lachlan River catchment. The Lachlan catchment occupies an area of approximately 90,000 km2 across western NSW. The Lachlan River begins in the Great Dividing Range near Gunning and flows 1,400 km west to its junction with the Murrumbidgee River near Oxley. Water in the Lachlan is regulated by Wyangala Dam which provides a source of water for irrigators and towns along the river. Under normal conditions, the Lachlan River is a terminal system with little water flowing past the Great Cumbung Swamp at the end of the river. Water typically flows through into the Murrumbidgee River only during large flood events. The river is the lifeline of the shire providing essential water supply to Condobolin, the administration centre of the shire, as well as the towns Lake Cargelligo, Tottenham, Albert and Tullibigeal.

In more recent times the Shire has made its mark in the discourse of popular culture with the 2003 Australian Idol runner up Shannon Noll being a proud Lachlander originally from Tullibigeal and the runner up of the 2012 The X Factor Jason Owen who was born and bred in Albert.

Page | 4 CURRENT USAGE LACHLAN RIVER

Condobolin

The Condobolin water supply is currently sourced solely from the Lachlan River and supplied to approximately 3,000 people. The Council has a high security licence for the town supply which provides raw water to be treated prior to consumption. The aging water treatment plant, more than 78 years old, is estimated to have a limited remaining asset life and requires significant capital upgrade or whole scale replacement in the near future. The quality of the raw water supply is a significant contributing factor to the cost of treating water for residents of Condobolin. When turbidity increases in the Lachlan river there is a direct correlation to the increase in cost of water production.

Council has a small bore field in Condobolin with access to saline water that can be used to supplement and ‘shandy’ with river water in periods of limited supply, although water produced using this method is at the outer limits of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). Council is also in the process of developing a second bore field from funding received from the Restart NSW water security fund with access to higher quality ground water.

Additionally Council has a number of smaller water licences for irrigating sporting grounds, parks and gardens. While small in volume, these licences are incredibly significant for the social wellbeing of the Condobolin community. They include the main sporting precinct known as SRA grounds (Sports, Racing and Agricultural), Memorial Park and the dog show grounds.

Memorial Park Condobolin Page | 5

SRA Grounds Condobolin (Show 1996) Lachlan River in the foreground

Page | 6 Lake Cargelligo

The Lake Cargelligo town water supply services approximately 1,500 people and is primarily groundwater sourced from the Merri Abba bore field located 30km west of the town and surface water drawn from Lake Cargelligo itself. The water treatment plan utilises ultra filtration membrane and dissolved air flotation (DAF) techniques and is relatively new with significant investment from NSW state government funding made since over the past 10 years.

The quality of water in Lake Cargelligo rapidly deteriorates during warmer weather and when water levels are not topped up through regulated flows from the Lachlan River. Blue Green Algae also occurs in Lake Cargelligo and while the water treatment plant is designed to provide safe drinking water there are a number of private lines connected to the Lake direct to private residences. These private connections are outside of the control of local government but important to know about from the perspective of a catchment manager.

Additionally Council has a water licence for irrigation of the lake foreshore park and the Lake Cargelligo Recreation ground. This ground is one of the most picturesque grounds in Central West NSW on the shore of Lake Cargelligo. As with Condobolin, these licences are small in volume of very significant for the social wellbeing of the community of Lake Cargelligo.

Lake Cargelligo by its nature is a popular destination for recreational campers and tourists who wish to make the most of lake and the proliferation of free camping areas around the Lake. On any given long weekend and holiday period the population of the town can be doubled with both day visitors and also those staying for a weekend for water skiing, fishing, sailing and bird watching.

Recreation Ground, Lake Cargelligo

Tullibigeal

The Tullibigeal water supply is pumped from Lake Cargelligo via the Tullibigeal – Kikoira transfer pipeline, approximately 45km long. The water in this pipeline is deemed to be a raw supply due to the low levels of free chlorine at the township. There are 149 services connected to this water supply line including residential, non-urban, farmland and non- residential.

Page | 7 Tottenham and Albert

Water supply is provided to Tottenham by the B-Section Pipeline from Parkes Shire Council to a population of 430 people. Water is originally sourced from the Lachlan River in Forbes and pumped through a transfer system of pipes and reservoirs with Lachlan Shire Council responsible for 45.3 km of the pipeline.

Page | 8 IMPLEMENTATION OF MURRAY DARLING BASIN PLAN

The senate resolved to establish the Select Committee on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP). The committee is to inquire on the social, economic and environmental impacts of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on regional communities

This submission will focus on the following aspects of inquiry:

• Section a) The implementation of the plan and - iii) its direct and indirect effects on agricultural industries, local businesses and community wellbeing, and - iv) any evidence of environmental changes to date

• Section b) the effectiveness and appropriateness of the plan‘s Constraints Management Strategy, including: - ii) environmental water flows and river channel capacity;

Community Wellbeing [a) iii)]

There are specific criteria addressing critical human water needs (Chapter 11) particularly in relation to water quality and salinity trigger points in the River Murray System, these are structured in a way to ensure supply of quality and quantity for downstream water utilities as water flows from state to state. As a terminal system the Lachlan doesn’t have the same downstream demands as the River Murray System. Yet there ought to be some commitment from the river regulator to understand and identify all communities which rely on the Lachlan for water supply, essential to community wellbeing.

Generally speaking water quality in the Lachlan is usually consistent and allows for provision of suitable drinking water to Condobolin. The exceptions, as expected, being during times of low flow and volume or after periods.

With consideration given to water supply for the community of Lake Cargelligo, without regular flows of water being pushed through the lake system to provide turnover, the quality of water diminishes and the costs of water production increase. Given that the alternative bore water supply is some 30km away there are inherent costs associated with pumping that make this a more costly option for the water supply.

Lachlan Shire Council expect to see some recognition of Lake Cargelligo in the Murray Darling Basin Plan to ensure that Lake received a regular flow for the Community wellbeing. If the MDBP is to address social needs, for the community of Lake Cargelligo, this recognition is essential.

The benefits of the recognition and commitment to water quality for Lake Cargelligo will have the additional benefits for the community wellbeing in the areas of economic impact, providing a healthy inland lake enticing to visitors not just to Lake Cargelligo but to the Lachlan Shire. Tourism cannot promote an unhealthy lake. Businesses, particularly the hospitality industry depend on regular arrival of visitors to Lake Cargelligo and in turn these businesses also service the local community.

Page | 9 The environmental impacts of a healthy lake system with regular turnover of water is obvious in meeting the environmental needs of the various ecosystems, flora, fauna, aquatic and avian. The local community has documented some 236 unique bird species with 33 of these threatened species. The provision of habitat and protection of these species can only occur with a commitment to regular inflow of water to the lake system. Every environmental flow that is released through the Lachlan River should be directed to flow through Lake Cargelligo rather than remain in the river and bypass the Lake.

Overall it is suggested that Lake Cargelligo ought to be specifically recognised in the MDBP in order to support community wellbeing in all three areas of social, economic and environmental impacts.

Furthermore to consider the issues of community wellbeing, Lachlan Shire Council would like some consideration of a special irrigation allocation to sporting grounds and community parks and gardens. While there are normal allocations in Council would typically have their normal licences to depend upon, but in a dryer season Council’s licences are treated exactly the same as any other licence. This has had significant ramifications on the frequency of irrigation that Council can maintain on sporting grounds and community parkes.

The hardness of a sporting ground due to limited irrigation will result in injuries, and some grounds could face possible closure they are not safe to play on. Additionally Lachlan shire makes every effort to keep the memorial park in Condobolin and the foreshore park in Lake Cargelligo looking their absolute best. These parks help to lift the spirits of these two communities and provides a focal point for socialising, and passive recreation. Any reduction in water allocation in the Lachlan Valley will have an impact on the ability for Council to maintain these parks for public use.

Liberty Park, Lake Cargelligo foreshore

Page | 10 Evidence of Environmental Change [a) iv)] & Environmental water flows [b) ii)]

There have been seasonal environmental changes noticed in Lake Cargelligo during the implementation of the MDBP. The MDBA released a document entitled “Assessing environmental water requirements” Chapter 7 of this document outlines the expectations for watering the “Lachlan Swamps”. The species of flora and fauna listed in this document that benefit from environmental flows are also prevalent in the Lake Cargelligo system. The Lake Cargelligo community have seen a commitment to put water into the Booligal and Brewster systems, although anecdotally, the water has been committed after a period of drying and would seem to be considered as too little too late.

It is interesting to note the MDBP exceeding the local reduction amount (p173 MDBP) achieving 65GL when the target was 48GL. The difficulty the Lake Cargelligo community have with this reduction, is that this results in a less water being released into the Lachlan system than is thought necessary and contributes to the partial drying of the various wetland systems.

Another difficulty facing the community regarding environmental water, is that when the water is released there is an increase in the flow observed in the river, but this resource is not available to draw from and nor is directed through Lake Cargelligo. This adds to the feelings of angst to see so much water going past the Cargelligo system and not be available for use.

Additionally there is common held belief that much of the water currently being held in Wyangala Dam is environmental water and that this is taking up much of the water profile. While this may or may not be true, this creates uncertainty in the community as to how the Lachlan river system is being managed. Staff from NSW Office of Water have made some welcome efforts in 2014 to improve communication with the Lake Cargelligo community. Stakeholder meetings were conducted as part of the state water sharing plan consultation and reports have been advertised through the local newspaper to advise the community on levels and releases from Wyangala. These efforts should be praised and continued in an effort to match the passion the Lake Cargelligo community have for managing water resources.

Lake Cargelligo is in the unique position of having the opportunity to gauge flows both into the lake system and out of the system. In the past irrigation water orders have been “pre- delivered” to Lake Cargelligo and this allows a much shorter delivery time downstream of the Lake. This operational use has seen water levels fluctuate as can be seen in Figure 1 over the page. Council would like to see a commitment to provide regular flushing of the Lake Cargelligo system to maintain the unique environment diversity and recognition of this diversity by the MDBA. The chart in Figure 1 shows that it is possible over a sustained period of time to keep levels of water in Lake Cargelligo, and setting a minimum of 50% is achievable and ought to be included as part of the environmental management strategy of the Lake.

Page | 11

Figure 1: Lake Cargelligo storage chart

Page | 12 Further, a commitment to bring the Lake to 80% during the summer months is also possible and has been achieved in the past five years. This is when water is most required for the Lachlan system downstream of Lake Cargelligo and could be utilised to address the issues of river flows outlined in chapter 7 Lachlan Swamps, see figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Excerpt of Assessing Environmental water requirements: Chapter 7 – Lachlan Swamps

Page | 13 CONCLUSION

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