The Wambuul Macquarie-Cudgegong Environmental Water Advisory Group (EWAG) met in Dubbo on 6 and 7 May 2025 for a planning session on the use of water for the environment for the 2025–26 water year.
Catchment conditions
The region has experienced warm weather over the past few months, and forecasts suggest these warmer-than-average conditions will continue. Moderate rainfall is expected and water flow into major storages has been low but well above recent droughts.
The Macquarie Marshes were in a good general condition. The inundation from the spring 2024 pulse flow peaked at around 32,000 hectares. Without further rainfall in May and June 2025, the marshes’ inundation is expected to recede to between 5,000 and 7,000 hectares by the end of June 2025. Most of this will be confined to channels, reedbeds and inner river red gum areas.
Future water demand in the catchment was considered to identify areas where flows are most needed to maintain river and wetland health and to help native fish.
Long-term goals
The EWAG agreed on a set of rolling goals for the use of water for the environment.
For the Wambuul/Macquarie River system, these include building resilience to drought, helping to keep wetland and riverside vegetation healthy, and providing habitat. This habitat is needed to support wetland frogs, rakali (water rats), platypus and waterbirds, including key nesting areas for future breeding events.
Providing drought protection requires a balance between using water to make the ecosystem stronger today and holding water for when conditions start to dry down. A minimum reserve of 60 gigalitres (GL) was endorsed and may increase depending on rainfall.
In the Cudgegong River, key priorities include supporting native fish and improving the overall health of the river. This includes creating more natural flow patterns and delivering small pulses of water in the warmer months, especially in the area above Mudgee that is most impacted by Windamere Dam.
Native fish recovery remains an important priority in both river systems. Target species include river nesting fish like Murray cod and freshwater catfish, which prefer stable moderate flows during their nesting period. Providing a flow connection between the Macquarie and Barwon rivers also helps native fish by providing an opportunity to move between our catchment and the wider Murray–Darling Basin.
Goals for the 2025–26 water year
Wambuul/Macquarie River
The EWAG set specific goals for the 2025–26 water year to support the health of rivers, wetlands and the animals and plants that rely on them. These goals are based on different possible water availability scenarios for 2025–26, ranging from ‘drought starts today’ to moderately wet conditions.
The focus will be on:
- maintaining wetland plants, providing wetland habitat for native animals and supporting key waterbird nesting sites in the Macquarie Marshes by providing a spring pulse. The pulse aims to temporarily inundate at least 20,000 hectares. The size of the pulse will depend on water availability in spring. It will also improve conditions for animals like frogs and rakali along the Wambuul/Macquarie River and provide a connection to the Barwon River.
- providing a range of flows in the mid-Macquarie River between Burrendong Dam and the marshes to encourage native fish breeding, particularly targeting the endangered freshwater catfish from Dubbo to Narromine.
- saving at least 60 GL of water for future use to support the long-term health of key wetlands and sustain native fish populations if 2026–27 is dry. The total saved will depend on rainfall.
Cudgegong regulated river
The EWAG set priorities for the 2025–26 water year to support the health of the river and to help native fish to breed and recover. This will be achieved by:
- improving variability in flow in October to boost river health and food supply for native fish and river animals, such as frogs, waterbirds, platypus and rakali
- providing a slightly raised river flow in warmer months; this is designed to help key native fish species to breed in the river, particularly freshwater catfish, Murray cod and northern river blackfish
- saving at least 2 GL water for future use in 2026–27.
Watch this space
The EWAG will meet in September 2025 to review conditions. A visit to the Macquarie Marshes is planned to see the effects of watering decisions.
