IRRIGATORS in the Tamworth region have had their water allocation almost tripled in the latest monthly update.
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General security licence holders can now access 61.1 per cent of the water they're entitled to, after the Department of Planning, Inudustry and Environment (DPIE) announced the changes in its April statement.
It marks a big boost for local farmers, who were given an allocation of just 24 per cent last month, and only 20 per cent the month before.
Peel Valley irrigators suffered through more than 18 months of drought without any water allocation at all, but it has been slowly increasing since January.
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Wednesday's announcement from DPIE marks the first time the water allocation for general security licenses has burst the half way mark all year.
The DPIE said the Peel catchment is in drought stage one - the lowest level - and the catchment has returned to "normal river operations".
License holders can also pull more water from wells, or aquifers, after the allocation was upped to 80.9 per cent.
Chaffey Dam was more than 57 per cent full on Wednesday and the DPIE said about 15GL - or 15,000ML - had flowed into the source last month.
The allocation assessment is made based off how much water is in the catchment, including rivers and tributaries as well as the dam.
The state government has been looking at what water is floating around in the catchment, to give people an idea what the allocations might be for the new water year, which starts in July.
It warned the outlook is "conservatively based".
"Town water, domestic and stock, and high security entitlements are likely to receive 100 per cent allocation on July 1, 2021," the DPIE's statement said.
"The allocation for general security entitlement holders and the [environmental] account will depend on account usage, as well as inflow to Chaffey for the remainder of this water year, but will likely start low on July 1."
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