Namoi water pumping restrictions lifted too late, farmers say

WaterNSW has announced that the temporary restriction on pumping from the upper and lower Namoi water sources has been lifted, but a Breeza farmer says it was lifted too late.

Owner of Breeza Station Andrew Pursehouse said "most of the flow was gone" already when the restriction was lifted, so there was very little to pump.

"If they'd lifted it when we asked them to, all those critical needs down river had been met, so we could've pumped a lot of extra water," Mr Pursehouse said.

"As responsible irrigators we understand water is needed all the way down the Murray-Darling system but in this case there was more than an adequate amount to do the job and we were still faced with an embargo."

Read also:

Mr Pursehouse said there needed to be more transparency when lifting embargos, and that the decision making process needed to be quicker.

Executive officer of Namoi Water Jon-Maree Baker agreed with Mr Pursehouse, saying the embargo was continued "unnecessarily".

"We had storms and [rivers] all ran again and there was quite significant run off. Unfortunately, the department ... continued the flow protection which meant ... all those unregulated licence holders missed out on their access," Ms Baker said.

"For some of them, that was the first opportunity they had in four years to access any water, and they pay their licence fees every year.

"My estimate for the Gunnedah community is a loss of $32 million worth of local economic activity by continuing the embargo."

Ms Baker said it wasn't all bad news, though, as the rainfall meant farmers had good odds for healthy winter crops.

"The rainfall has meant that most farmers were able to finish off their corn and cotton crops and that means it's taken the pressure off the groundwater access ... hopefully that'll be some cash flow for them," she said.

The restriction lift also meant a return to normal water sharing plan rules, Ms Baker told Australian Community Media.

"I think every irrigator is pleased to see we're back to water sharing plan rules now that it's contributed to that very important first flush and we just hope it continues raining," she said.

More information about the restriction can be found at www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/allocations-availability/temporary-water-restrictions