Government to pick ‘winners and losers’ in response to flood of applications for new bores
Bore applications have doubled as desperate farmers look for ways to access water to survive the coming summer. But the state government has warned there will be ‘winners and losers’ in the race to save drought-stricken farms.
NSW
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Panicked farmers are flooding the government with applications to drill bores as they confront the reality of insufficient water to survive summer.
Bore applications from farmers and rural businesses have doubled in the past fortnight, from 213 outstanding bids to more than 400.
But even successful applicants won’t be able to start drilling until autumn, with onerous hydrological testing required to protect vital underground water reserves for existing bores and prevent catastrophic aquifer collapses.
As NSW reels from the worst drought in a century, experts and farmers are for the first time acknowledging even extreme water measures will not be sufficient to save large numbers of farms.
NSW Farmers is telling its members who pay a premium for “high security” water licences, granting guaranteed water supply regardless of circumstances, not to expect their entitlements will be honoured and to discuss their options with their local Water NSW office as soon as possible. High-security licences are usually for irrigation of permanently established crops such as orchards, where the trees must be kept alive for future seasons.
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Water Minister Melinda Pavey has conceded the government will be forced to pick winners and losers, allowing some rural families to go to the wall in order to save as many jobs as possible.
Town drinking water, mines and intensive industries such as chicken hatcheries, feedlots and abattoirs will be given priority for new bores.
“You have to pick winners and losers and be pragmatic about limited resources,” Ms Pavey said. “There are hard decisions to be had. We’re being upfront with people, saying we’ll prioritise bores for drinking water and jobs.”
The government has hired six new hydrologists to help cut bore application processing by two months, to between 60 and 100 working days.
NSW Government Drought Co-ordinator, Jock Laurie, and water bureaucrats have told farmers to prepare for “no water” in rivers that supply rural centres such as Tamworth, Bathurst, Dubbo, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Glen Innes, Tenterfield, Cowra, Forbes and Condobolin.
Even with priority access to new bores, Tamworth chicken processor Baiada was last week told to consider winding back its operations in case water completely runs out early next year.
Modelling by the Bureau of Meteorology predicts a better than even chance of drought well into 2020.
In the worst cases where town drinking water is under threat, such as the Peel River that supplies Tamworth, rivers are being stopped and the water quarantined
The Peel River will this month be stopped at Dungowan and piped to Tamworth to stop water evaporating and seeping into creek systems.
In the Macquarie Valley in the state’s north, flows from Burrendong Dam to the lower reaches of the river systems have been curbed to extend the availability of critical town supply to Dubbo, Warren, Nyngan and Cobar.