Menindee Lakes Reach Lowest Water Levels in Decade Amid Warnings of Massive Fish Mortalities

Water levels at Menindee Lakes in western New South Wales have reached their lowest point in five years, prompting the state government to impose upstream water-use restrictions amidst credible warnings of mass fish deaths.

Combined storage fell below 480 gigalitres earlier this month—the first time since 2021.

In the upper Menindee Lakes, volumes have dropped below 250GL, a threshold that triggers temporary water restrictions across parts of the northern Murray-Darling basin.

The imposed restrictions limit access for some irrigators and are intended to preserve water for critical human needs and the environment.

Sustaining low rainfall in the catchment over the past twelve months has compounded the decline, with experts warning of a growing risk of summer fish kills unless flows into Menindee Lakes from the Darling-Baaka River improve.

“Government officials are predicting with a high degree of certainty that unless there is increased flow into the Baaka-Darling River, fish kills at Menindee this summer will occur,” said Prof Jamie Pittock of the Australian National University and the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.

“We need a major rainfall event and for state governments to curb irrigator over-extraction,” added Pittock.

Graeme McCrabb, one of the first residents to alert authorities to the 2018-19 disasters, described the lakes as having reached drought reserve volumes. “This effectively meant water conservation at all costs,” he explained. McCrabb remains hopeful that recent rainfall in Queensland may provide some replenishment to the Menindee system.

“Even if small inflows cross the Queensland border, we need more water than that to offset the deficit,” he stated.

“Without additional inflows, the risk of fish kills would be very high in January or February,” McCrabb warned. “A milder summer could also lower that risk,” he concluded.

An expert panel was established under the northern basin connectivity program to limit upstream water extraction during dry periods, aiming to maintain flows in tributaries into the Darling-Baaka River. The panel’s final report was released two years ago, but the state government has yet to implement its recommendations. McCrabb expressed concern that officials had failed to act on the panel’s advice, noting that since the fish kills, no policy changes have been made to improve water quality outcomes.

The NSW water minister, Rose Jackson, has been sought for comment.

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