Menindee Lakes locals fear more fish kills as hot summer forecast

Locals not hopeful for Menindee Lakes review as water levels falls to lowest since 2021 In short: Locals are sceptical that a management review of Menindee Lakes will fix issues for the community around the lakes. It comes as an El Niño summer is forecast, with fears of more fish kills and the lakes potentially drying up again. What's next? The MDBA is expected to release draft options for the community to review before the end of the year, with a final report to be released next year. The Menindee Lakes have been a constant in Sunset Strip man Darryn Clifton's life, but the lakes he remembers as a child are not the same. The former Darling River Action Group vice-president found 100,000 dead fish in Lake Menindee in February and said the river "needs a lot of attention" to bring it "back to life". But with another hot summer forecast ahead and reduced inflows, fears of more fish kills are heightened, as is the increased chance of the lakes drying up. "If you've got no inflows coming into the lakes, then the water deteriorates over time … creating a cesspool for breeding up the cycle of more fish kills, when the changing of the weather occurs." Mr Clifton said the water mismanagement is "a never-ending situation", with water extraction by northern basin irrigators, priority for water given to South Australia and "bad decisions" made by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder to release water. "We are the meat in the sandwich," he said. "Menindee Lakes has always drawn down first out of the three major storages in the basin. "I think there'll be change but I don't think it's going to be change that people who live around the lakes and in Menindee will be happy with." Review underway as lakes handed to NSW The ephemeral lakes system in the middle of outback New South Wales, about 117 kilometres south of Broken Hill, is three-and-a-half times the volume of Sydney Harbour, connecting the Upper Darling River to the Lower Darling River. The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is reviewing the operating rules of the lakes, which have largely been unchanged since the 60s, when they were developed into a water storage and as a shared resource between NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Last month the lakes were handed back to the NSW government to be a NSW-only resource after they dropped below 28 per cent of their total capacity and the Darling River's Northern Basin was placed under water restrictions. The review has received about 160 public submissions, including from Mr Clifton. MDBA's senior director of river modernisation, Joe Davis, said the submissions will help inform options for a long-term vision for the Lakes. "There was a strong agreement on a lot of issues, but there was also different views on priorities, that balance between environmental outcomes and water security, whether the change should focus on infrastructure, operating rules or the broader basin reform." Grape grower fears dying vines Locals are unconvinced the review will fix their concerns for the lakes they live and work next to. Menindee grape grower Steve Howse said current management decisions, like water drawdowns, meant a lack of security for his vines, which can take more than two years to fruit. "I suppose without a secure water source we really are taking a bit of a gamble," he said. "It's not a cheap exercise." Mr Howse said making water accessible in the top two lakes would give growers two years' worth of secure water without the need for a review. "A lot of the changes and the reviews that we're hearing about are to secure fish habitat," he said. "We're not going to have fish habitat if we have no water." The MDBA is expected to release draft options to the community for review before the end of the year, with a final report to be released next year.