More time to Have Your Say on Lachlan and Macquarie-Castlereagh water

Residents, businesses, farmers, First Nations people and stakeholders have an extra 17 days to have their say on the draft Lachlan and Macquarie-Castlereagh Regional Water Strategies due to major flooding across the Central West and Western NSW.

Feedback on the two strategies was due to close on 1 November but because of ongoing flooding along the Lachlan, Castlereagh and Macquarie River catchments the NSW Government is extending the public consultation process to 17 November.

“Regional NSW has copped a battering over the last few weeks with major flooding now in places like Bathurst, Dubbo, Forbes, Narromine, Nyngan and Warren,” Executive Director Water Strategy and Policy for the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Kaia Hodge, said.

“With rivers overflowing and more wet weather on the way, we know landholders must prioritise keeping themselves and their community safe which is why we are giving locals more time to review the strategies.

“We are also moving our face-to-face consultation sessions to November, weather permitting, to enable as many people as possible to attend.

“The strategies underpin the way we manage water for communities along the Lachlan, Castlereagh and Macquarie Rivers, which is why it’s important that local people have an opportunity to contribute.

“Every piece of feedback we receive during public consultation plays an important role in helping us to refine the strategy and drilldown to a shortlist of options that will deliver safer, more secure and reliable water over the next 20-40 years.

“We recognise it is difficult for residents to think about a water strategy when they’re focused on flood recovery, which is why we have listened to community requests to extend the public exhibition period, so everyone can have their say.”

The strategies include a mix of infrastructure and non-infrastructure solutions to put communities in a stronger position to manage the next drought, along with advanced water treatment technologies, demand management and future augmentation measures to diversify town water sources and reduce demand on dams and rivers.

Please visit our website for the latest updates and to view the Draft Macquarie-Castlereagh Regional Water Strategy and Draft Lachlan Regional Water Strategy and lodge a submission.