Mungindi has switched on a new permanent $325,000 water cooling tower to ensure the town’s 600 residents will continue to have safe and high-quality drinking water during weather extremes.

Residents, businesses, Aboriginal groups and other stakeholders are being encouraged to have their say on the NSW Government’s recently released options report which aims to simplify the regulatory framework of coastal floodplain drainage works

The NSW Government and Central West Joint Organisation (JO) are trialling the state’s first regional water loss management centre to bolster water security, save millions of litres of water and help drought proof supplies.

Councils and Local Water Utilities (LWUs) will be better prepared to safeguard water and sewerage services during floods, droughts and bushfires, thanks to a series of incident and emergency response workshops being rolled out this month.

The NSW Government is calling for photos, drone footage and historical data from last year’s record flooding and previous years to underpin vital floodplain management plans being updated in the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Billabong Creek and Lachlan

The NSW Government is leading the charge in returning water to floodplains, wetlands, rivers and creeks by bringing unapproved flood works into compliance across the northern Basin.

The first of nine planned high-flow environmental water releases to the Snowy River will begin on Tuesday 31 May 2022.

High floodwaters that are low in dissolved oxygen levels are continuing to move downstream from the Barwon-Darling River to the Menindee Lakes increasing the risk of fish deaths.

The Bureau of Meteorology advises that widespread rainfall, including possible heavy localised falls, is forecast across much of inland northern NSW river valleys over the next 12-18 hours.

There are reports of heavy rain in the Gwydir region which could lead to overland flows.

An independent panel commissioned to assess the management of the 2020 Northern Basin first flush event has released its final report, Secretary for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Jim Betts has announced.

The first stage of the Independent Panel Assessment of the Management of the 2020 Northern Basin First Flush Event has been completed and a draft report is now available, Secretary of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Jim Betts