NSW delays water to Gwydir wetlands for winter crops — SkimNews
SkimNews Take
Prioritizing agricultural water use during critical environmental windows disrupts natural breeding cycles, potentially causing cascading ecological impacts beyond immediate wildlife deaths.
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- WaterNSW delayed environmental water deliveries in the Gwydir region until after the 2025 winter cereal harvest, despite a 26 September warning that the ideal flow time was “now”.
- Jonathon Guyer reported that the cessation of flows forced endangered Australasian bitterns to flee and caused deaths of fledging waterbirds, frogs, and sheep in the Mallowa wetlands.
- Gwydir wetlands – home to four Ramsar-listed sites – did not receive flow flows until November or early December, with the Lower Gwydir receiving reduced‑rate water only in October.
- NSW environment and water department held back flows in 2023 and 2024 to accommodate winter cereal harvests on the Mallowa and other floodplains.
- Mallowa watercourse saw environmental water delayed, shortened, or reduced repeatedly, treating the water as a “fit‑around” for farming rather than a conservation priority.
Why it matters: Four Ramsar-listed wetlands lose critical breeding water as flows are delayed until after the 2025 winter cereal harvest, favoring grain farmers while jeopardizing endangered species and ecosystem health.
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