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Water for Rivers, the body charged with reviving the Snowy River, has little more than a year to find 57,000 megalitres of water savings.
But Water for Rivers chairman Richard Bull said it had already lined up 20,000 megalitres in savings from Victoria and another 36,500 megalitres from NSW irrigators.
"I'm confident we'll get close to 60,000 megalitres by the June 30 (2005) deadline," Mr Bull said.
"We have to, otherwise we'll have to re-borrow from Snowy Hydro or buy water on the (temporary market)."
Under the Snowy River agreement between the NSW, Victorian and Federal governments, Water for Rivers can only borrow water from the Snowy Hydro Corporation for three years, from June 30, 2002.
The borrowed water has been used to divert water from the Mowamba aqueduct to raise the flow in the Snowy River's upper reaches to 6 per cent of its natural level.
The agreement states the borrowings must be offset by actual water savings in the Murray Darling Basin by the June deadline.
Murrumbidgee Irrigation chairman Dick Thompson said the corporation was "about to sign up" on a deal to drain 60 per cent of Barren Box Swamp.
The project, which would cost $20-$30 million, is expected to save 20,000 megalitres for the Snowy.
"And there are other projects that we're ready to deal on as well," he said.
Those projects included:
- 11,500 megalitres in savings from piping stock and domestic systems on the Yanco and Forest Creeks in NSW.
- 4,000 megalitres from piping the Tungamah domestic and stock water supply system, north of Benalla.
- 16,400 megalitres by metering the domestic and stock pipe outlets to properties in the Goulburn Murray irrigation district.
The three governments have promised to use water savings to lift the Snowy's flow to 21 per cent (142,000 megalitres) by 2009.
by Peter Hunt
The Weekly Times
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