Let’s droughtproof Dubbo!
The summer of 2019/20 was shocking in the Wambuul/Macquarie Valley. The sharp severity of the drought was unprecedented and showed us all just how vulnerable we are in terms of water security. By early 2020, the Wambuul River came extremely close to running out of water when Burrendong Dam almost hit empty. Dubbo was among 90 Regional NSW towns that came within months of evacuation.
The Warren weir was raised by WaterNSW stopping flows beyond. Downstream, the river rapidly dried up to a series of disconnected green pools.
This near calamity was completely avoidable.
There is no ‘drought reserve’ in Burrendong dam – which is set to empty at blistering speed. Currently, water allocations are calculated using rainfall data from last century – no information from after 1 July 2004 is used when working out how much water to allocate to irrigation accounts.
Add your voice to our petition, calling on the NSW Government to establish a ‘drought reserve’ of four years water supply for critical base river flows, town water supplies, basic landholder rights and high security water needs in Burrendong dam.
Thank you for all you do.
From the team at Healthy Rivers Dubbo
Healthy Rivers Dubbo 