Malpas dam water plan talks begin

For the first time, residents will be able to hold one-on-one discussions with NSW government officials about best ways of sharing water from the city’s main water supply, Malpas Dam. 

“This is our chance to have a say on environmental flows, urban water supply and extraction for agriculture and industry,” MLC Scot MacDonald said yesterday.

Water-sharing plans for rivers and groundwater systems are being rolled out across NSW.

They aim to balance environmental concerns with all water users, including farmers. Such a plan will be a first for Armidale.

Malpas Dam holds 76500 megalitres of water, with just one per cent of that currently used for irrigation.

Under the draft sharing plan, up to 10 times more water could be released in times of drought.

That would mean the 30 or so graziers who rely on the Gara River for supply would not have to truck in water during lean times.

Currently, Council has the sole lease for extracting water from Malpas Dam.

During droughts, it has voluntarily released water into the Gara River  from the Malpas town water pipeline.

But the new plan would see that  release kick in earlier and for it to be far greater.  

Also, the plan would stop releases from the dam if water levels dropped to 50 per cent capacity.

Officials say the dam is stressed because of the large volume of water extracted for town use.

It also warns tributaries leading to the dam are at risk.

The public information session will be held at Armidale City Bowling Club on March 18.