mmg.com.au

Deniliquin could face a higher flood risk if the draft Murray Darling Basin Plan is implemented, according to local farmer Louise Burge.

Mrs Burge, together with husband Andrew, took Federal Water Minister Tony Burke on a tour of local river constraints and flood risk areas last week as part of his Deniliquin visit.

The Burges have repeatedly expressed concerns that the Murray Darling Basin Authority has not taken system constraints and flood risks into account in the controversial plan, which proposes diverting 2750 gigalitres of water to the environment.

‘‘This affects large areas of the Berrigan, Murray, Conargo, Wakool Shires where property access can be restricted by delivery of environmental flows,’’ Mrs Burge said.

‘‘Fifty per cent of Murray River flood flows are forced into the Edward River system and therefore will flow through Deniliquin.

‘‘This issue is a major risk to the town of Deniliquin and the planners simply don’t understand the parameters of risk in delivering environmental flows and how quickly events can turn to deliver a major flood.

‘‘Apart from the economic loss to the region arising from the loss of irrigation water, the double whammy is what are the social and economic impacts to the shires, individuals and businesses arising from poor planning of the delivery of environmental flows?’’

Mrs Burge said the last ‘basin plan’ from 2004 had not even been tested.

‘‘We actually have a ‘basin plan’ — the National Water Initiative (NWI) — and we need to recognise that significant water planning for the environment was developed in the NWI water sharing plans developed across the basin in 2004,’’ she said.

‘‘These plans and new environmental provisions have never been tested due to the ‘millennium drought’ where many of these water sharing plans were suspended.

‘‘So as a first principle, why throw all this planning out when the new environmental provisions in the water sharing plans have not even been tested?’’

Mrs Burge said last week’s tour was a ‘‘good opportunity for the minister to see the potential impacts firsthand’’.

The Murray Group of Concerned Communities (MGCC) congratulated Mr Burke for making the trip.

MGCC chairman Bruce Simpson said the visit fulfilled a promise made at last year’s public consultation meeting in Deniliquin on the draft Murray Darling Basin Plan.

‘‘The minister made a commitment to come back and he has honoured that commitment,’’ Mr Simpson said.

‘‘He has shown that he did listen at the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) meeting in Deniliquin, he understood that we believe constraints are a real issue and he clearly made the decision that he needed to see it for himself.’’

Southern Riverina Irrigators chairman Ted Hatty wants Mr Burke to visit Deniliquin again before deciding on the basin plan.

‘‘(Mr Burke) has seen a very brief tour,’’ Mr Hatty said.

‘‘We would encourage him to come back as soon as he possibly can to see the rest of the implications of his decision.’’

Mr Burke said he would continue touring the basin, but would not guarantee a return to Deniliquin.