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 2026–27, we will partner with Aboriginal peoples and organisations. This includes programs to consider Aboriginal rights and values in environmental water planning, delivery and monitoring. For example, we will:
- align priorities with the Lachlan Environmental Water Advisory Group and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s Flow-MER 2.0 long-term monitoring program
- work with the Nari Nari community to achieve environmental and cultural outcomes in the Great Cumbung Swamp by implementing and refining the Greater Cumbung Region Water Management Plan
- support the land and water aspirations of the Wiradjuri, Mutthi Mutthi and Yitha Yitha peoples, including opportunities to access and use cultural access licences alongside environmental flows
- support the Condobolin Wiradjuri community for Murie Creek, ensuring they are involved in long-term water plan development
- collaborate with Aboriginal peoples to develop Water for Country content for inclusion in long-term water plans.
Key planned actions for 2026–27
Native fish
Planned environmental water deliveries to the Lachlan Swamps and Greater Cumbung Region will provide up to 80 gigalitres (GL) to boost productivity and improve native fish condition along the entire Lachlan River before the breeding season.
In Merrowie Creek, up to 10 GL of environmental water will help maintain habitat for a population of the endangered small-bodied native fish, olive perchlet, found in 2023.
A contingency of up to 10 GL of water for the environment may be used to provide refuge habitat if there is a risk of low flows, dissolved oxygen levels and high algal loadings in conjunction with the water sharing plan’s water quality allowance.
Waterbirds
The Lachlan Swamps, Greater Cumbung Region and Merrowie Creek environmental flows will provide over 6 months of feeding, roosting and refuge habitat for waterbird populations from winter through to summer, including migratory waterbirds and threatened species, such as the Australasian bittern, freckled duck and blue-billed duck.
Vegetation
Water managers will aim to build resilience in floodplain vegetation, including:
- lignum shrublands and non-woody vegetation fringing braided channels in Merrowie Creek
- river red gum woodland and non-woody vegetation, including native reeds and rushes in the Great Cumbung Swamp and Lachlan Swamps, while also providing habitat and consolidating the recovery of the re-established population of the endangered southern bell frog.
Connectivity
The planned winter–spring watering of the Lachlan Swamps will connect the Lachlan River to numerous small anabranches, lakes and billabongs below Whealbah to the Great Cumbung Swamp. It will also provide good flows from Wyangala Dam along the length of the Lachlan River and several distributary creeks. The watering of Merrowie Creek will extend flows below Cuba Dam, potentially as far as Lake Tarwong.
Map of proposed annual priority targets in the water resource plan area 2026–27
For more information on each catchment's resource availability scenario and expected volumes, visit our Annual environmental watering priorities 2026-27 webpage.
