Partnering with Aboriginal peoples
Water for Country is environmental water use planned by the NSW Department of Climate Change Energy, the Environment and Water and Aboriginal people to achieve shared benefits for the environment and cultural places, values and/or interests.
In 2025–26, we will build on efforts to partner with Aboriginal people and organisations in the NSW Border Rivers catchment. This includes engagement with Gomeroi/Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay, Kambuwal, Githabul, Bigambul, Kwiambul, Ngoorabul/Ngarabal and Western Bundjalung nations. For example, we will:
- incorporate Aboriginal views into the NSW Border Rivers Long-Term Water Plan, which underpins our objectives for planning water use
- seek an opportunity to engage with Toomelah Local Aboriginal Land Council and listen to Aboriginal perspectives
- learn more about Boobera Lagoon to ensure the needs of this important place are incorporated into planning
- share information and cooperate with Commonwealth and New South Wales agencies.
Key planned actions
Native fish
Below Pindari Dam, we have the capacity to provide reliable baseflow and small freshes, and potentially large freshes under the right conditions.
Pindari Dam is a deep, narrow dam that stratifies during the warmer months, creating distinct cold and warm layers of water that don’t mix. Releasing water from the dam when stratified, results in both a cold shock for fish downstream, and a delivery of poor-quality water. To address cold water pollution, a destratification system in Pindari Dam, known as the Bubble Plume Project, will become operational in the coming year. Large compressors are used to deliver air to the bottom of the reservoir, creating plumes of bubbles that rise and mix the water column. The destratified water provides more consistent temperatures throughout the dam’s water column for release downstream. This project is an opportunity to improve overall productivity and positive outcomes for native fish.
Planned actions for fish include monitoring the success of water management plan rules to ensure no cease-to-flow occurs, and that there are adequate days of very low flows. Rules for minimum flow in the water sharing plan are limited, but can achieve these objectives. Baseflows, which underpin a healthy habitat, can be provided during spring and summer and can be supplemented by Commonwealth water if needed. This includes filling in potentially harmful pauses in deliveries at critical times.
Small freshes that drive productivity and fish movement can be provided by a rise in irrigation orders over the warmer seasons. These low and seasonal flows provide an ideal foundation for native fish, capitalising on warmer waters anticipated from the Bubble Plume Project.
The Pindari Dam inflow trigger was met on 3 April 2025. This will allow water managers to use the Pindari Stimulus Flow in planned water releases in the following season. This will enable a large fresh event to be delivered to support river habitat in the warmer months and provide opportunities for fish to breed and move. The stimulus flow account could be used in conjunction with irrigation deliveries to support the duration of a large fresh. Alternatively, it could be used to maintain baseflow between blocks of irrigation deliveries during the irrigation season.
When the bubble plume is operational, coordinating the stimulus flow releases with warmer releases from Pindari Dam will support native fish and provide opportunities for them to breed and disperse.
Waterbirds
Natural flows within the regulated and unregulated river systems support waterbirds across the catchment. These flows are usually bankfull or overbank and sometimes include large freshes or baseflows that support muddy banks and vegetation that provide breeding and foraging habitats for waterbirds.
Suitable sites for waterbird monitoring were identified in 2022 in the NSW Border Rivers, and in 2023 a survey of sites located in the west of the catchment was conducted. Understanding how different flow regimes influence these sites will help water managers support beneficial flows.
Water management may include influencing irrigation deliveries or replenishment flows, and the potential use of Commonwealth water, where water can be protected to the end of the system. Waterbirds will benefit from maintaining waterway connectivity and support for native fish.
Vegetation
Water managers will protect or deliver flows to support vegetation, connectivity and native fish actions.
There will be a focus on Boomi River and Macintyre River to avoid cease-to-flow and lengthy periods of very low flow conditions, which can stress aquatic and riparian vegetation and reduce habitat value.
There is no capacity to deliver large fresh and overbank events with managed environmental water. Supplementary and flood events will contribute to inundation of wetlands and floodplains.
Connectivity
Connectivity has been a major focus for water managers in the northern basin following the 2017–2020 drought. Commonwealth holdings of supplementary water help achieve connectivity when natural events occur. Flow targets are in place to prioritise downstream connectivity over irrigation when river flows arise from rainfall events.
The Commonwealth’s Border Rivers water holdings become important for providing low, connecting flows and possibly coordinated connecting flows within the Border Rivers and into the Barwon River. Previous dry years have shown these releases have been essential for replenishing and refreshing pools.
Replenishment flows continue to be delivered to the Boomi River by WaterNSW under water sharing plan rules.
Proposed annual priority targets in the NSW Border Rivers water resource plan area
For more information, go to our Annual environmental watering priorities 2025–26 webpage, which includes each catchment’s resource availability scenario and expected volumes of environmental water available.
