NSW delays water to Gwydir wetlands for winter crops
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.
