The state government has indicated they’re ready to respond to river health in Menindee by working closely with the community and partner agencies to mitigate further major fish deaths. A range of measures have been put in place to combat deteriorating water quality and fast-track clean-up operations this summer, if they’re required.
The state government warns that expected hot weather conditions, low dissolved oxygen levels, and algal blooms over the next few weeks and months would put more pressure on the Darling-Baaka River system, especially as a significant biomass of fish still compete for limited resources.
Four pulses of up to 1000ML per day from Lake Pamamaroo on November 10-13, November 23-25, December 6-7, and December 13-16 when deadly destratification events were threatening is hoped to prevent hypoxic conditions in the Weir 32 weir pool. The state government reports that it did in fact successfully improve dissolved oxygen throughout the water column and assisted fish health.
“Short, sharp water pulses from Lake Pamamaroo have gotten us out of trouble on a few occasions which is a huge credit to our expert teams, however I will always be upfront with the community, and I won’t sugarcoat the precarious situation we currently find ourselves in,” Minister for Water, Rose Jackson, said.
“There is a high likelihood of fish deaths as we move through the warmer months, but I want to assure locals we are pulling every available lever, including trialling cutting-edge micro-bubble technology to help further oxygenate small sections of the river which is good news because it will provide an extra boost to water quality and refuge for native fish during hypoxic periods.
“We’re also enhancing our water quality monitoring, having installed four depth profile telemetered buoys in the weir pool that relay real time data and give the state government a clearer picture of what is happening in the river so we can continue to respond quickly and effectively.
“That will reduce the burden on the crews we’ve had on the ground in Menindee for on-site sampling who have been providing valuable information to allow us to make informed decisions on releasing water from the upper lakes and balancing the need for long term storage.”
An Emergency Operations Centre is on standby should another mass fish death event occur, and a contractor has been stood up to be available to remove dead fish from the river immediately. The actions form part of the state government’s plan to address the recommendations of the Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer’s report in full.
For more information including regular community updates and fact sheets, visit:
https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/menindee/community-updates-and-frequently-asked-questions and https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/allocations-availability/drought-and-floods/hypoxic-blackwater)
