Footloose - Kimberley Water Rights (December 2005)

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A $50 million native title deal recently struck between the WA government and the 1000 strong Miriuwong Gejerrong Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region of WA will soon see the second stage of the Ord River irrigation project come into being and the amount of irrigated land will triple.

The irrigation scheme has been on hold for over a decade as the litigants fought out the claims in the country’s highest courts. It is our understanding that the package will entail funding for joint management of national park areas, Aboriginal input into the future development of Kununurra, freehold title of any cultural significant areas and individual and/or group Aboriginal ownership of some areas of irrigated land that will be able to be leased back to prospective farmers.

The main dam, which resulted in Lake Argyle – the biggest man-made fresh water pondage in Australia – was completed in 1971 Since 1988, when the operation first turned a profit, there has been pressure on getting the second and third irrigation stages up and running.

Still, what will this increased irrigation demand do to the Ord River, the environmental flows downstream from the dam, the wildlife that depend on the water and tourist and fishing guides and companies that operate in the area?

Already there’s been reports of the water table rising and salt affecting some areas.

Some years ago when we were fishing with Greg ‘Hairy Dog’ Harman from his Ultimate Adventures fishing camp on the Lower Ord River he was commenting strongly on the increased nutrient loads the river was carrying, brought about by irrigation, and what that was doing to the water quality of the river. Reports of fish deaths were also heard around that time and there was the strong feeling that the two were linked!

There’s no doubt the river and its immediate environs have changed since the dam was built. The river runs at a near standard height all year round and that means weed has taken over much of the river bed while a thin strip of thick vegetation lines the complete length of the Lower Ord.

In another decision to do with water, but a long way away from the Ord River, the Federal government and the state governments along the Murray-Darling system have come to an agreement about national water trading rights. This should see the states buying back water from irrigators that will be turned into environmental flows to help the ailing river. An extra few million dollars will also be spent to get water to flow to 60 drought ravaged redgum forests along the waterway in NSW, Victoria and SA.

That’s all good news but the consensus of opinion is that the state of the Murray River is getting worse. While it has been planned that 500 gigalitres of water will be returned to the river by 2008, projects underway currently will only return 240 gig. And, as one minister said, they are the easy options!

The river looses something like 75% of its natural flow to irrigation, which means there is a near constant demand to dredge the river mouth. Without dredging the water in the Coorong would become more saline and this would surely degrade the habitat for native fish and waterbirds, while the fishing industry, local tourism and recreation would suffer.

So we have two great rivers at opposite sides of the continent; one that has been changed almost beyond repair; the other seemingly in much better condition, but with greatly increased demands about to be placed on it.

I wonder if we have learnt anything and if there is another $50 million to make sure we don’t stuff the Ord River up. It would be cheaper and better if we got it right now and didn’t have to repair a degraded stream or buy back water later.

Somehow though, I doubt if we are that smart!

For more details on the Ord River Scheme, check out the Ord Land & Water web site: http://www.olw.com.au/irrigation.htm

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