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Federal Water Minister Tony Burke denies that local farmers will be left with only 40 to 50 per cent of their productive water if the draft Murray Darling Basin Plan is implemented.

Mr Burke was in Deniliquin on Wednesday and Thursday, meeting with farmers and stakeholder groups to discuss the draft plan.

The plan proposes diverting a total of 2750 gigalitres (GL) of water from irrigation to the environment, some of which has already been sourced through buy-backs and efficiency works.

Of the water still to be sourced, a percentage is set to come from each basin catchment, plus an ‘end-of-system’ component.

It is estimated the basin plan would remove 20 to 30 per cent of the region’s water, on top of 20 per cent already gone through government buy-backs.

‘‘They’re certainly different figures to the ones that the (Murray Darling Basin) Authority put out,’’ Mr Burke said yesterday afternoon while inspecting the Bull family’s Conargo Rd farm.

‘‘For the in-catchment amount we’re either completely there or we’re close to it,’’ Mr Burke said.

How the end-of-system component affects the local area partly depends on efficiency works at Menindee, he added.

‘‘If we can get this efficiency at Menindee working, we are in the ballpark of very substantial volumes of efficiency that can off-set (local diversions).

‘‘I’m still hopeful that we can get that up.’’

The minister said the proposed plan would not decimate towns such as Deniliquin, but acknowledged that it would have an impact.

Murray Valley Community Action Group chairman Lester Wheatley, however, stood by the 40 to 50 per cent figure.

‘‘In terms of the water that has been lost to the district we are at the tipping point of an irreversible adverse socio-economic impact,’’ he said.

‘‘We are at that point now. That information was actually (taken from) the guide (to the basin plan).

‘‘By their own admission, once we reach this point from here on in any more water that is removed from productive use will have a negative impact - unless it’s water that is provided by infrastructure improvement and efficiency.’’

Mr Burke met with a number of local stakeholders during his short stay.

He had dinner with more than 20 people on Wednesday night in Deniliquin, followed by breakfast with Finley High School principal Bernie Roebuck on Thursday.

He then toured Andrew and Louise Burge’s property, situated between Deniliquin and Tocumwal, before viewing on-farm efficiency works at Colin and Marg Bull’s property ‘Boelgi’.

His final stop was Deniliquin Rice Mill late yesterday afternoon.

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