Ready to respond to river health in Menindee
The NSW Government is continuing to work closely with the Menindee community and partner agencies to mitigate further major fish deaths, with a range of measures in place to combat deteriorating water quality and fast-track cleanup operations if required this summer.
Hot weather, low dissolved oxygen levels and algal blooms over the coming weeks and months are expected to put additional pressure on the Darling Baaka River system which still has a significant biomass of fish competing for limited resources.
These factors will keep the risk of fish deaths very high, which is why NSW and Commonwealth agencies are carefully monitoring the situation and adjusting releases of good quality water from Lake Pamamaroo to help prevent hypoxic conditions in the Weir 32 weir pool.
This has included four pulses on 10-13 November, 23-25 November, 6-7 December and 13-16 December of up to 1000 megalitres per day when deadly destratification events were threatening, which successfully improved dissolved oxygen throughout the water column and assisted fish health.
An Emergency Operations Centre is on standby should a mass fish death event occur, and a contractor has been stood up to be available to remove dead fish from the river immediately which is vital because the process of fish decaying uses up more dissolved oxygen in the water.
These actions form part of our plan to address the recommendations of the report from the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer in full, which also includes:
- A new mass fish death response plan endorsed by the State Emergency Management Committee to ensure a rapid and coordinated approach
- A newly established independent expert panel on Barwon Darling River connectivity that will deliver its first draft report by early 2024 on improving flows before, during and after drought.
- Four newly installed depth profile telemetered buoys, 20 real-time sensors being installed by 2023-24 and another 20 across the Basin by 2024-25 to boost water quality monitoring.
- Considering Section 324 temporary water restrictions to restrict low priority licences as drier conditions escalate.
- Carrying out investigations for temporary and permanent fish passage with a $2 million contribution from the Commonwealth.
- Undertaking surveys to inform fish relocation and carp removal.
- Trialling new technology to put oxygen into the water, similar to what is occurring in Western Australia.
- A newly advertised role based permanently in Menindee or the Far West to assist in implementing government projects and coordinating responses on the ground.
The NSW Government will continue to keep the public informed every step of the way and continue have regular meetings with key stakeholders including Central Darling Shire Council and the Barkindji Native Title Group.
For more information please review regular community updates and fact sheets.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Water Rose Jackson:
“Short, sharp water pulses from Lake Pamamaroo have gotten us out of trouble on a few occasions which is a huge credit to our expert teams, however I will always be upfront with the community, and I won’t sugarcoat the precarious situation we currently find ourselves in.
“There is a high likelihood of fish deaths as we move through the warmer months, but I want to assure locals we are pulling every available lever, including trialling cutting-edge micro-bubble technology to help further oxygenate small sections of the river which is good news because it will provide an extra boost to water quality and refuge for native fish during hypoxic periods.
“We’re also enhancing our water quality monitoring, having installed 4 depth profile telemetered buoys in the weir pool that relay real time data and give the NSW Government a clearer picture of what is happening in the river so we can continue to respond quickly and effectively.
“That will reduce the burden on the crews we’ve had on the ground in Menindee for on-site sampling who have been providing valuable information to allow us to make informed decisions on releasing water from the upper lakes and balancing the need for long term storage.
