Qld: We're a good water citizen, says Queensland

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2008
Qld: We're a good water citizen, says Queensland

By Steve Gray

BRISBANE, Aug 15 AAP - The Queensland government rejects accusations of a breach of
a moratorium on harvesting water from the Paroo, the Murray-Darling system's last free-flowing
river.

University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers yesterday said satellite images showed
new storages along the Paroo in Queensland's far south west, contravene a moratorium imposed
by the state government in 2001.

The researchers stood by their claims that water harvesting had increased.

In an agreement signed with the NSW government, Queensland accepted that only existing
works approved before the June 2001 signing were permitted.

UNSW scientists Richard Kingsford and Adam Roff claim that since then, six storages
have been constructed, in breach of that agreement.

However, the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW) today denied
the claims, saying the approvals for the works were granted before June 2001.

Department spokesman Ross Krebs said natural flows had been maintained "including an
end of system flow objective of 99 per cent of predevelopment flows".

Mr Krebs said a water resource plan introduced in 2003 prohibits any increase in the
take of overland flow.

"However, the plan does not place restrictions on how the water is used once it has
been taken," he said.

"Works can also be reconfigured subject to there being no increase in overall take.

"Had Prof Kingsford discussed these issues with NRW officers, he may have reached completely
different conclusions to those contained in his report."

Prof Kingsford said today he stood by the report.

He said new development allowed the capture of more water which can legally be put
into other storages and diverted for irrigation.

"I would argue that you're actually increasing the take of overland flow because as
you do that you draw down on the swamp - they're calling it a dam - because you're diverting
water into storage and then putting it on a crop," Prof Kingsford said.

"From an ecological point-of-view that water would have sat there, servicing an ecological
function, so essentially they're still taking water from the Paroo for irrigation."

He denied claims they had not consulted NRW, and said downstream irrigators had held
"detailed dialogue" with the department.

NRW claims that Queensland has the best water management processes in the Murray-Darling Basin.

"This was proven recently in the landmark Murray-Darling Basin Commission report on
the health of the basin's river system," Mr Krebs said.

After rains in February this year, Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Water
Craig Wallace said 960 billion litres had flowed down the Paroo into NSW.

At the time Mr Wallace said this demonstrated that Queensland was being "a good water
citizen by managing water flows through to NSW".

AAP stg/pjo/it/bwl

KEYWORD: MURRAY QLD

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