THE TWO biggest stakeholders in the running of Chaffey Dam were not officially notified of the decision to stop controversial environmental flows, before it was announced on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) and Water NSW learnt of the backflip through a media release from Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson on Wednesday morning.
Council's director of water and waste Bruce Logan told the Leader the state government's decision to halt environmental releases from Tamworth's main water supply was a welcome surprise.
"I've had some discussions with Kevin Anderson over the last couple of days and [on Tuesday] we were told that it was imminent, and then [on Wednesday morning] we found the media release," he said.
"Other than hearing about the possibility of this happening ... it was a surprise to us."
READ ALSO:
The state's leading water agency, which is in charge of conducting environmental releases from the dam near Tamworth, was also left out in the cold prior to Mr Anderson's announcement.
Mr Logan said he isn't certain when the emergency plan will be activated or what the trigger point was for the change of policy.
"The decision is that [the releases] stop immediately, but whether that's filtered down to Water NSW and the people that actually open the valves, I'm not sure about that, but the sooner the better from our perspective," he said.
Environmental releases meant 30 megalitres of the precious resource - 12 Olympic swimming pools worth - was gushing out of Chaffey Dam and down the Peel River every week.
Mr Anderson said the temporary arrangement is a "common sense" approach and will provide better water security for the region.
"This new arrangement ... is welcome news for the community who are frustrated with the current tight water restrictions," he said.
"With critically low water storage in Chaffey Dam this strikes the right balance between critical human needs and the environment."
The hotly contested environmental releases have been heavily criticised by TRC in the past. It argued all water needs to be reserved for critical human needs during the ongoing drought.
However, Mr Logan said TRC was not actively involved in the recent discussions, and said he understands the final call was made by NSW water minister Melinda Pavey, and the state environment minister Matt Kean.
Mr Anderson said the emergency plan recognises the dire situation water users face in the Peel Valley.
The breakthrough arrangement is set to last four months, and will be revised in October this year, after impact assessments are made.
Tamworth generally uses an average of 15-16 megalitres per day, which means cutting off environmental flows will effectively give the city an additional two days' supply of water per week, according to Mr Logan.
Chaffey Dam has been hovering at around 14 per cent in recent months, despite significant rainfall at the Head of the Peel and in the Peel Valley catchment area.
"I think a lot of people have been questioning the need for environmental releases with the rainfall that we've had and flows downstream, so it's good that the government has moved and made this decision," Mr Logan said. "At this stage, every megalitre that we can save is fantastic."
It is understood the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment will monitor the health of the Peel River and wildlife which call it home.
Previously, it was widely agreed but not set in stone that environmental flows would stop when the dam plummeted to 10 per cent capacity.
Water NSW previously told the Leader the releases were originally imposed as a planning approval condition for the Dungowan weir, which was installed late last year.
Mr Logan said there is flexibility under the new emergency plan to bring back environmental releases from Chaffey Dam if the need arises.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
