Last week saw irrigators, local mayors and Member for Parkes Mark Coulton gather to draw attention to alleged ‘over-recovered’ water from the Macquarie Valley, and what will be done with it. 

The Federal Government has been purchasing water through voluntary buybacks as part of implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, leading to Macquarie River Food and Fibre (MRFF) accusing levels of being ‘over-recovered’, or having taken more than the initial goal. 

Mr Coulton said that the ‘over-recovered’ water should be returned to the valley, rather than contributing to the 450 gigalitres that the government is aiming to recover for the environment. 

“Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has indicated that she has no intention of returning over-recovered water back into production which is very concerning for Basin communities in my electorate.”

“Communities in the northern Basin have already been gutted by water buybacks and the over-recovery of water. They’ve done more than their fair share of the heavy lifting and cannot afford to lose any more productive water – water that is used to grow the crops that help feed our country,” he said.

However secretary of the Macquarie Marshes Environmental Landholders Association Justine Bucknell said that there is no over-recovered water, and therefore no decisions to be made on where it should go.

“Water was actually bought prior to the plan, around 2007. That water was pre the calculation date that the plan was based on,” Ms Bucknell said. 

Justine Bucknell is a farmer local to the Macquarie Marshes. (Supplied)

“So it’s not over-recovered…it’s actually double accounting.”

Ms Bucknell said that while stakeholders calling for the return of water are concerned about their communities suffering, communities downstream of Narromine and Warren already have. 

“When the irrigation industry ramped up in the late 70s and early 80s, there was no socio economic study on the impacts of upstream extraction on the communities downstream.”

“Towns like Quambone and Carinda would be less than half the size they were…businesses just left and communities shrunk.”

The allegations come a week after the Productivity Commission’s report into the Murray Darling Basin Plan, which found the government needs to be more aggressive about pursuing water buybacks to achieve healthy environmental flows. 

“A significant water recovery task lies ahead. The Australian Government should — without delay — plan and implement a renewed water recovery approach, including voluntary water purchases,” said the report. 

The Inland Rivers Network also called the claim of over-recovered water ‘deceitful’.

“How can the claim be made that these rivers are ‘over-recovered’ when the internationally significant wetlands they contain are rapidly declining?” the INland Rivers Network said in a statement.

CEO of MRFF Michael Drum insisted that the over-recovered water needed to be returned, calling for local stakeholders to be engaged to do so.

“Use of Macquarie water for those programs is effectively robbing Peter to pay Paul, unduly burdening our communities to cover for the Government which hasn’t made any progress towards actual efficiency projects to recovering that 450GL.  

So far, only 26 gigalitres of the additional 450 for the environment have been recovered, stalled by varying negotiations with state governments.