FIREFIGHTERS have been forced to dip in to the dams of farmers, as they battle multiple infernos raging across the region.
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New England MP Barnaby Joyce said the sad situation was yet another example of why the government had to built more water infrastructure.
Reports have already surfaced of frustrated farmers lamenting the loss of what little water they had left to help fight the fires.
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"We have water being taken from dams that are almost out of water," Mr Joyce said.
"They can't afford to lose any. There was water taken from [Tenterfield's] town water supply, which is at a critical level. Some fire trucks were travelling 150km to find water."
Mr Joyce said given the severe drought conditions, the government should replace the water that had been taken from landholders to fight the fires.
"During a fire, they can take whatever they want, and I understand that, the fire is the priority," Mr Joyce said.
"But you've got to go back and fix the problem after it's over.
"It's hard but possible to support a farm once you're out of fodder. Once you're out of water, you're out of the game."
Mr Joyce repeated his call for the government to "pull its finger out" and stop dams from being "tied up in a myriad of bureaucracy".
"We really have to work out what on earth is happening with the state and federal governments talking about water infrastructure, but unable to built it," he said.
"I know a dam does not make water, but it certainly plans for the next one, and it's something that we can do now.
"Build water infrastructure so that next fire, after it rains, we will have a sustainable body of water to fight fires where the fires are."
Mr Joyce also said there was a clear need for more "watering points" in national parks and state forests.
"We've got to make sure national parks can manage their water requirements when fires happen in there," he said.