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All Current and Past Media Releases
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Media Release - Department of Water and Energy Date: 1 July 2008 COMMENCING WATER ALLOCATIONS FOR LACHLAN VALLEY The Department of Water and Energy today announced Available Water Determinations for the Lachlan Regulated River for the start of the 2008-2009 water year.
Due to the ongoing drought conditions in the Lachlan Valley, there is only sufficient water to initially provide 70 per cent of entitlement for local water utilities.
Stock and domestic will initially receive 20 per cent of entitlement and the share component of high security access licences will be 0.2 megalitre per share unit.
Based on the current storage levels, there is a zero allocation for general security licence holders; however, they can access 14 per cent of the opening balance in their 2008-2009 account.
This area of the State has missed out on receiving any good rainfall over the summer-autumn months, which has impacted on available water.
The river levels remain low, with the current storage capacity at Wyangala Dam at about 121,300 megalitres - an improvement of 3,790 megalitres from this time last year.
Although conditions are improving, it is necessary for the current severe water shortage order for the Lachlan Valley to remain in place.
This means that normal water sharing rules continue to be suspended for the Lachlan Regulated River Water Source.
It is important that water users are aware of the situation in order to plan their operations over the coming year.
The Department of Water and Energy will monitor the situation closely and continue discussions with the critical water planning group to review allocations as new resources become available.
Additional information is available on the Department’s website at www.dwe.nsw.gov.au. Alternatively, licence holders can phone their local DWE office for more information.
© NSW Department of Natural Resources
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