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Water authorities say Deniliquin’s river height should be at a reasonable level for tourism activities over the Easter long weekend.

Environmental flows destined for the Edward and Wakool River systems have been timed to correspond with the holiday period, which ensures the height is suitable for recreational use.

It is welcome news following speculation last week that a halt in inflows into the Edward River would see the river levels drop before holiday makers arrive.

When the Pastoral Times went to print yesterday, the height of the Edward River was 2.27m at Deniliquin.

It has been hovering between 2.25m and 2.34m for the past week.

A State Water spokesperson admitted it was often difficult to predict river levels ahead of time, because it is sensitive to demand and weather changes.

‘‘The current expectation is for (water) demand to remain fairly constant up to the Easter long weekend and, as such, the river level should remain stable. Again, this is heavily dependent on weather.

‘‘It is expected that any rainfall will provide a reduction in demand which, due to operational limitations, will require the weir pool to be lowered.

‘‘Demand is expected to fall immediately after the Easter long weekend, and this will result in the river falling slightly.

‘‘Current forecasts indicate that the river at Deniliquin may fall to 2m or below, and the level at the weir may fall to approximately 4.6m.’’

Murray Catchment Management Authority catchment officer - water Dr John Conallin said State Water, the NSW Office of Water and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, do try and keep river levels as stable as they can, but are driven by demand.

‘‘That is why we try our best with environmental flows to coincide with social considerations as well,’’ he said.

‘‘The environmental objectives will always come first, but we can be flexible. That’s why we spend a lot of time time talking to recreational fishers, farming groups and communities.

‘‘We ran this environmental flow so it would line up with the Wakool Fishing Classic this weekend and Easter.’’

Easter is one of Deniliquin’s peak times for on-water recreation, with all accommodation providers reportedly booked out for the long weekend.

With the river being attributed to a significant portion of Deniliquin tourist numbers, a local push has started to ensure there are guaranteed water levels at peak holiday times.

While supporting the push, Dr Conallin said it was also important for the river levels to drop, as normal, during the winter.

‘‘The drying phase is just as important, if not more important, than the wetting phase when it comes to river health,’’ he said.

‘‘Without a drying phase banks and sediment doesn’t get a chance to dry out, get hard and breathe.

‘‘The bottom would be toxic, nothing — yabbies, crayfish etc — could live in it, and you wouldn’t be able to walk on it, similar to South Australia that have permanent weir pools.

‘‘This drying phase is why you have a healthy river and the fishing, bird life, crayfish etc is so good; when it re-wets a huge amount of food is released into the system and it kick starts the whole process.’’

Dr Conallin said there should be discussions as the push for guaranteed river heights progresses to ensure the health of the river system is fully taken into account.