| |
| |
|
All Current and Past Media Releases
|
Media Release - Department of Water and Energy Date: 1 July 2009 COMMENCING WATER ALLOCATIONS FOR THE GWYDIR VALLEY The Department of Water and Energy today announced Available Water Determinations (AWD) for surface water users in the Gwydir Regulated River Water Source, for the new 2009-2010 water year commencing on 1 July 2009. Allocations for local water utility and stock and domestic licence holders will be 100 per cent and high security licence holders will receive 1 megalitre per share unit. The initial allocation for general security licence holders will be zero for Gwydir River water users, although all carry over water will be available. The initial allocation for supplementary licence holders is 1 megalitre per share unit. Copeton Dam, near Inverell, has a current storage capacity of about 174,000 megalitres. This is significantly down from the 298,500 megalitres recorded at the commencement of the last water year. Although good rainfalls were received over the catchment area during the summer months, unfortunately the storage facilities have not benefited greatly. The allocations announced will enable water users to plan their operations over the coming year. The Department of Water and Energy and its agency partners, State Water, will continue to run the river system to minimise losses and maximise water availability. The prospect of receiving good rainfall has now deteriorated with the Bureau of Meteorology stating that La Nina is now neutral and is expected to persist until late winter. The Department will continue to closely monitor the situation and make regular announcements as new resources become available. Additional information on AWDs is available on the Department’s website: www.dwe.nsw.gov.au Alternatively, licence holders can phone their local DWE office for more information.
|
|||||||||||||||