Pocock backs urgent review of laws to protect 'spectacular' Murrumbidgee

Senator Pocock said laws governing the water systems should be revisited as soon as possible to ensure the health of the river, amid a push from environmental groups for a change of governance.

The Australian River Restoration Centre want Snowy Hydro scheme operations included in the Commonwealth's water management framework for the Murray Darling Basin, which they say would mean more water for the Murrumbidgee.

Senator Pocock said many of the laws governing water management were designed decades ago when the needs of environmental water and hydroelectricity were less understood.

"Now is the time for consideration of how the river will be managed in the future, including during the next drought," he said.

Water Ministers from each basin jurisdiction will meet with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Wednesday, to discuss progress on delivering basin plan commitments.

The government agreed to all recommendations to regulate the water market ahead of the meeting, following an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission highlighting significant problems.

While operational changes of Snowy Hydro assets are dependent on NSW and Victorian government cooperation, Minister Plibersek has not ruled out supporting a change, noting exacerbated pressure on the Murrumbidgee as a result of climate change.

"During the last drought, there was not enough water to keep the Upper Murrumbidgee River flowing," Minister Plibersek said.

"The government is willing to consider all options for improving the ACT's water resource availability, including the operations of the Snowy Scheme."

The Geikie family hold a Murrumbidgee water licence to pump at their 1200 hectare cattle and sheep farm in Tharwa.

Andrew Geikie said the majority of agricultural producers want the best for the environment, regardless of which government agency is in control.

"We rely on the rivers ... they must be managed with fairness and equity," Mr Geikie said.

The main irrigators on the Murrumbidgee are upstream of Tharwa at Numeralla, with the river considered a key risk area for water offences, including illegal pumping.

The outcome of a long-running investigation into illegal pumping in Numeralla is expected in coming weeks, after the NSW water regulator raised concerns over a breach of cease-to-pump rules during the 2019 drought.

The regulator completed 37 investigations into water offences related to water theft and metering on the Murrumbidgee in 2021, the majority of those occurring downstream of the ACT.

Fiona Dyer, water science professor at University of Canberra, said with reduced water the Murrumbidgee, like all rivers, is not performing the functions it's expected to.

"Taking 90 per cent of the the water out at Tantangara Dam, even though there is environmental flows downstream, is very definitely going to impact the ecology of that system," she said.

"Our river systems are used to getting sequences of flow pulses coming down them which drive biological processes.

"They support the bacteria, the biofilms, the macro invertebrates which form the food for fish and other species that live within those river systems.

"There's research from all around the world that says that the more water you take out of a river, the more impacted the ecosystems."

Professor Dyer said in every other system in NSW environment water would be protected from being taken by irrigators, but in the Upper Murrumbidgee it's not.

She said the environment would be better off if there was a broader set of management objectives, other than the production of hydroelectric power.

Professor Dyer said it was possible Snowy 2.0 could put added pressure on ACT water security and she believed Snowy Hydro had an opportunity to step up.

"Snowy Hydro have no imperative to be the environmental custodians, they just follow the instructions of NSW around the amount of water to be delivered in a very, very inflexible way," she said.

"I personally think there's a need for a shift."

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