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Like all rivers, regulated and unregulated, over allocation is rife.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramblingboy42
I've been involved in a small, unregulated river, the allowed, licensed allocations are so far above average flows it was insane and it's the same all over
Then I guess the various cockies who regularly appear on local TV complaining about how they can't get water even though the river behind them is flowing with environmental water have got it wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by rick130
Depends where on the river and rain events upstream.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grumbles
And when are you talking?
It was only 18 months ago that we had mass die offs at Menindee
And the river is a couple of thousand km long.
Too many times Qld irrigators have pulled so much out but well within allocations there's been no flow downstream.
How the hell is that sustainable?
And there's been stuff ups like the Menindee locks.
Why dam the lakes when they are so shallow?
The evaporation levels are crazy high in summer
it's NSW farmers pulling the water out of the Darling , not Queenslanders. Cottonfarmers....
the Darling River doesn't exist in Queensland
A couple of relevant stories on the subject.
- The On-Farm Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate gave farmers the green light to drill for bores and de-silt dams.
- Once works were underway or complete, farmers were eligible for a 25 per cent Federal Government rebate, administered by states.
- The scheme's run out of money and farmers have been left out of pocket.
Farmers promised financial help to drought-proof their properties left out of pocket - ABC News
And mates looking after mates.
The Commonwealth paid nearly double its valuer’s central estimate when it gave Eastern Australia Agriculture nearly $80 million for its water licences, the Government’s valuation document shows. Most of the profit from this record price paid for water licences ended up with a company founded by Energy Minister Angus Taylor, Eastern Australia Irrigation in the Cayman Islands.
Barnaby Joyce approved the deal as water minister in 2017.
An unredacted copy of the valuation by Colliers International, obtained by independent senator Rex Patrick, appears to contradict findings by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) that the Commonwealth’s strategic water purchases were less than the maximum price recommended by valuers.
Barnaby's Boondoggle: documents reveal $80m price for 'Watergate' licences was nearly twice valuation - Michael West
Actually Cubbie Station is the guilty party up here. It used to be cattle, the Japanese bought it and turned to cotton. Some of the most water intensive farming on the planet. The amount of water allocated to Cubbie meant a reduction in flow to the south. How this was allowed to happen in one of the driest continents on Earth , well, you just have to shake your head. The Darling River is not in Qld, but the Culgoa empties into the Murray Darling catchment , AFAIK.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramblingboy42
https://timalderman.files.wordpress....3242.jpg?w=604Cubbie Station in South Queensland, Australia’s major interstate water diversion issue.The station has significant water rights to flows along the Culgoa River, within the Murray-Darling basin. The topography of the area is defined by channels & floodplains of the upper reaches of the Darling & Barwon Rivers. Cotton was originally grown in the area from the late 1970s. In 1983, Cubbie Station was converted from grazing practices to cotton growing. The property consists of both agricultural & non-agricultural uses, with approx 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) presently developed, with a further 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) under development.
The station was created by amalgamating twelve floodplain properties to give Cubbie a total of fifty-one licences. The station’s water storage dams stretch for more than 28 kilometres (17 mi) along the Culgoa River, within the Murray-Darling basin. In an average year the station uses 200,000 megalitres (7,100×106 cu ft) of water, in a good year as much as 500,000 megalitres (18,000×106 cu ft).
The water is used to supply 130 square kilometres (50 sq mi) of irrigated cotton and other crops including wheat, which generates a net profit in the range of A$50 million to A$80 million a year.
The station is licensed to take 460,000 megalitres (16,000×106 cu ft), the equivalent of all irrigation entitlements downstream in north-western NSW. The property has the capacity to grow 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) of cotton. In 2006, the dams on the property were filled to 1% capacity allowing for only 200 hectares (490 acres) of cotton planting. The station is often derided for its large water usage requirements in a time of extreme drought in Australia and damage to the Murray Darling river system.
Semantics Den, we all know the Murray-Darling Basin extends well into Qld and has a number of Qld tributaries feeding into the Darling.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramblingboy42
Four states are involved and constantly warring and passing the buck to each other.
And the river system continues to decline.
The big thing is that Cubby has done nothing wrong, it's all within the rules and allocations but because they are more foreign owned and have the biggest water allocation they are a convenient whipping boy.Quote:
Originally Posted by bob10
Unfortunately that takes the focus off the gross mismanagement of various govt's and their bodies.
You'd better sit down, I agree entirely.Quote:
Originally Posted by rick130
As Bob posted Cubby has been around in it's current form for over 50 yrs.
Our river system woes have only been recent not for 50yrs .
Cubby harvests floodwater , doesn't pump out of the Darling or it's tributaries.
As stated a few years ago only had 1% of its water holdings while other licensees were pumping away merrily.
If you haven't seen the channels between Bourke and Moree they are huge , bigger than your vehicle and stretch for miles , all pumped out the river system.
the Darling is my river , I spent a lot of my youth on and around it.....it makes me cry to see one of the oldest worlds eco systems abused like this.
If any of you have a week or two, you could do worse than go for a drive from Wilcannia to Bourke then turn right to Moree and just look at what is happening....some of you may change your point of view about NSW and how it treats the Darling , properly known as Baaka