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Murrumbidgee's increased environmental flows to stimulate unwanted regular flooding

A woman looks stony faced at the camera.

Pip Goldman says the environmental flows will be "devastating" for her property. (ABC News: Emily Doak)

In short: 

Landholders on the Murrumbidgee River are angry about the New South Wales government's decision to push ahead with higher environmental flows.

Some farmers fear their properties will be flooded in five out of every 10 years.

What's next? 

Negotiations have started between landholders and the government and will have to be completed before the environmental flows begin. 

The property Pip Goldman's family has farmed for generations could soon be subject to flooding in five out of every 10 years.

That will be one flow-on effect from the NSW government's decision to allow environmental flows of up to 40,000 megalitres (ML) of water per day in the Murrumbidgee River, for a period of up to four days at a time. 

Mapping done as part of the government's Reconnecting River Country Program shows more than 1,200 properties will be affected, including the Goldmans' low-lying land at Collingullie, near Wagga Wagga, in Southern NSW. 

A woman points at an eroded creek bank.

Pip Goldman is concerned flooding could exacerbate erosion in a creek on her property. (ABC News: Emily Doak)

Mrs Goldman said although the river might only peak for a few days, the flooding would be enough to kill pastures, damage fences and bring weeds onto her land. 

"It's devastating … they are taking our property rights,"
she said.

"At 40,000ML our whole grazing areas will go under water … the pastures will be all ruined … then you would be looking at finding agistment or hay.

"Financially it would just be impact upon impact."  

The environmental flows are part of the state government's commitment to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. 

A flow limit of 22,000ML per day is currently in place at Wagga Wagga, but NSW has gazetted laws which would see that increase to 40,000ML.

The high-flow events, which could occur in five years out of every 10, are designed to put more water into wetlands, but will also cause flooding on agricultural land along the Murrumbidgee River. 

At Euberta, west of Wagga Wagga, Tim Abbott grows high-value lucerne crops on the river flats near the Murrumbidgee. 

A man with grey hair and glasses looks at the camera.

Tim Abbott's property will have some level of inundation from the environmental flows. (ABC News: Emily Doak)

"The water drains out of the billabong from the river onto my place, and then it just basically fills up like a lake," he said. 

"If I lose my irrigation paddocks … I lose the equivalent of five cuts of lucerne.

"That would be half a million bucks of hay."

'Not proposing floods'

Reconnecting River Country director Michelle Cavallaro said across the whole flow corridor, a majority of affected landholders would be minimally impacted. 

"What we are looking at is below minor-flood level,"
she said.

"There is a misconception that this program is proposing floods, which is it not." 

A creek with river red gums on the banks.

The Old Man Creek at Collingullie will fill up with the high Murrumbidgee flows. (ABC News: Emily Doak)

According to the program's business case, 172,000 hectares of private and pubic land will be impacted by the flows.

It is estimated the inundation will cover more than 20 per cent of the ground on one in five of those properties.

Ms Cavallaro said any compensation offered to affected farmers would depend on the level of impact. 

"You can't give an actual compensation figure because every property is unique and the impacts are individual," she said. 

Environmental benefits 

The program is part of the NSW government's obligation to improve the delivery of environmental water for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. 

Professor of ecology at Charles Sturt University Skye Wassens said the program was critical, particularly for the wetlands between Wagga Wagga and Carrathool. 

"There's about 700 or so wetlands in that system … they are very challenging at the moment to get environment water to,"
she said.
Wetlands with trees in the water.

The program aims to recover water for the nationally significant wetlands in the Murrumbidgee. (ABC News: Laurissa Smith)

Professor Wassens said even with the proposed environmental flows, some wetlands could still struggle, as they needed to be inundated annually. 

"The flows that are proposed under the … program are still very modest, compared to the long-term historic flow regime," she said. 

"The amount of water is still less, but it will be significantly better than the situation we have now."

Professor Wassens said fish, frog and bird species had reduced in the area due to the lack of water in the wetlands. 

"We've lost a lot of that diversity that we had previously," she said.

According to the NSW government, some higher flows will be allowed after 2026, but the upper limit of 40,000ML would not happen until negotiations were complete. 

NSW Minister for Water Rose Jackson has approved the first stage of the program, kickstarting phase one of negotiations with landholders between Darlington Point and Balranald. 

That represents more than 50 per cent of the inundation area for the program on the Murrumbidgee River.