An extra 147 megalitres of water has been returned to the environment thanks to the completion of a $2.4 million critical infrastructure upgrade at Nap Nap Station near Hay in southwest New South Wales.

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 state’s water regulator is holding two companies to account in separate prosecutions for alleged breaches of the <i>Water Management Act 2000</i>.