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, water managers will partner with Aboriginal peoples and organisations in the Intersecting Streams catchment. This includes attending Aboriginal-led meetings, collaborating on programs and advocating for Aboriginal outcomes. For example:
- attending Toorale Joint Management Committee meetings and providing details of environmental watering, water infrastructure operations and monitoring
- continuing to deliver the brolga monitoring project at Toorale with members of the Toorale Joint Management Committee
- advocating for Aboriginal peoples’ outcomes through water policy and projects.
Key planned actions
Native fish
A key priority is to support native fish populations and provide opportunities for them to breed and disperse throughout the system. This includes fish movement in and out of wetland areas such as the western floodplain at Toorale and Narran Lakes. Monitoring during the 2024–25 water year showed that native fish were using the western floodplain at Toorale. Continuing to provide opportunities in this floodplain is a priority in 2025–26. The dry outlook will make it critical to take advantage of any opportunities.
Waterbirds
In 2025–26, water is likely to be retained in the Narran Lakes system due to inflows in summer and autumn 2025. A priority is to ensure adequate vegetation condition and water levels, should further inflows trigger a breeding event of waterbirds that nest together in spring 2025.
Vegetation
Since 2021, recurring inundation events have resulted in good vegetation condition at Narran Lakes. Supporting vegetation recovery following a fire in the western section of Narran Lakes in the 2023 summer remains a long-term priority for water managers. Flows in the summer of 2024–25 did not provide sufficient inundation for recovery to the site. Flows in autumn 2025 helped, but the timing was not ideal for recovery. Additional inundation in spring–summer 2025–26 would strengthen the recovery of the site and provide favourable conditions for waterbirds that nest together.
Connectivity
Flows from the Warrego River inundated significant areas of vegetation communities on the Toorale western floodplain in early 2024. Similar inundation is expected to occur in autumn 2025. Repeated inundation in 2025–26 will increase the vigour and diversity of wetland vegetation.
Flows and inter-system connections depend on rainfall occurring throughout the year. Connectivity between the Warrego and downstream Darling is a priority alongside maintaining connection when environmental water is delivered to the western floodplain.
Water for the environment will be delivered at Toorale in line with the priorities set out in the Toorale water management infrastructure operating and maintenance plan.
Proposed annual priority targets in the Intersecting Streams 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.
