Talking Water - Tuesday 18 March 2025

NSW DCCEEW water allocation update

In its latest water allocation update (17 March 2025), the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has announced there is no change to allocations for the NSW Murray.

All entitlements, including General Security, have received their maximum allocation for the current 2024/25 water year. 

The above update also offers an outlook for the potential opening allocations for the 2025/26 water year (which can be found on page 6). 
 
In the meantime, you can subscribe to DCCEEW's updates by email and download its announcements here.   

Control System interruption being resolved

Late last week and over the weekend, customers actively irrigating experienced an interruption to water delivery services when our Control System’s communication infrastructure became overwhelmed by unusually high volumes of data. 
 
This overload caused a system crash, leading to delayed operating times.
 
Murray Irrigation has initiated an external review of the incident and has already taken measures to minimise short-term impacts on customers.
 
We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused customers. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we continue to resolve this matter.   
 
If you have any questions or need further information, please contact our Customer Experience Team on 1300 138 265.

Water delivery performance  10/03/2025 - 16/03/2025

Business News

Foundational Asset Condition Assessment Project update

Murray Irrigation is making strong inroads into the ground, aerial and underwater survey work we are currently conducting across the network as part of the company's Foundational Asset Condition Assessment Project.

The Imagery being produced by the Photogrammetry from the Aerial Survey has to date come in better than expected, as these images demonstrate: 

Above image: While at first glance, this image looks to be still from a great distance, due to the high resolution imagery, we can zoom in to focus on specific defects on assets.

Below image: The same image zoomed in can show the identifiable defects much clearer. 

More details on this survey activity, including areas of the network covered so far, can be found in our progress update below. 

Dairy industry tour

More than 50 dairy farmers from across Queensland and NSW descended on the footprint last week to explore how dairy farming is done in this neck of the woods.

The three-day tour was organised by industry body eastAUSmilk. 

While here, the group visited dairy farms at Finley and Blighty to explore and observe different on farm systems and technologies in action.

The itinerary also included a dinner at the Finley RSL Club on Tuesday night, where the visitors heard presentations from Murray Irrigation CEO Ron McCalman and Customer Engagement Manager Tom Kindred showcasing the local footprint and its potential for prospective new entrants to the local dairy industry. 

Sustainable Communities Program Early Investment Round

The first round of funding under the NSW Sustainable Communities Program is now open.

A total $15 million is available under this Early Investment Round, which is designed to support Southern Basin communities affected by water buybacks. 

Organisations eligible for the Early Investment Round can apply for $50,000 to $1 million for programs, initiatives and capital investment projects and between $250,000 to $4 million for infrastructure projects. Funding will be rolled out until the $15 million is exhausted.

Projects that would be considered for funding could include enabling infrastructure or technology upgrades to support business, plant and equipment for increased productivity or targeted workforce skills and capability development programs.

Reducing spray drift information resource

When applying herbicides, the aim is to maximise the amount reaching the target and to minimise the amount reaching off-target areas. This results in:

• Improved pesticide effectiveness
• Reduced damage and/or contamination of off target crops and areas.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries has established an information page focused on tips and tactics for reducing herbicide spray drift. 

Key areas of information include minimising spray drift before and during spraying, understanding the types of drift, and factors that may affect the risk of drift.

Head over to the Department's webpage below for more. 

Farm Wives Empowerment & Skills Conference

'Harvest Her Power' is a two-day conference designed to empower, inspire, and elevate women in agriculture with keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, and engaging activities that will equip participants with the skills and confidence to thrive.

Conference keynote speakers include: 

• Shannan Whan - Founder of Sober in the Country
• Katja Williams - Founder and host of The Ultimate Farm Wife Podcast & Founder & co-host for Agsolutley Fabulous podcast. 
• Gillian Fennell - Founder & Host Suck-Session Podcast, Co-host of Agsolutley Fabulous and Livestock SA chair. 
• Malinda Guest - Clinical Psychologist and Director of Boundless Psychology
• Jess Nathan - Farmer Wants a Wife S11
• Clare Hockings - Farmer Wants a Wife S13



This conference is taking place on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 April at Dubbo's Taronga Western Plains Zoo. 

Community News

Motherland Deniliquin Mother's Day Fundraiser

National charity, Motherland, is coming to Deniliquin on Saturday 17 May to celebrate Mother's Day and the incredible women of rural Australia.
 
Motherland supports and connects rural mothers across Australia and delivers services that reduce isolation and improve mental health outcomes.

This fundraising event will be held at the Deniliquin Town Hall from 1.30pm and will feature a panel discussion about the highs and lows of rural motherhood.

The panel will be hosted by Motherland Founder and CEO Stephanie Trethewey, and feature four rural women from the region and beyond:

• Emma Hawkins: Co-Founder, Home Grown Kids 
• Catriona Rowntree: Australian TV Presenter and Host, Getaway and Country House Hunters
• Emily Small: Customer Engagement Officer, Murray Irrigation, Chair of River Region Early Education and Ricegrowers' Association of Australia (RGA) Board Member
• Johanna Murphy: Owner and Director, Deniliquin Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre.

Tickets cost $85 + GST per person. (Under 13 year olds are free).