A proposal to build a new regulating weir at Gin Gin has come under the spotlight in the Sydney media.
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The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that "a stoush is brewing on the state's inland rivers over the proposal for a new weir that could reduce flows to the "degraded" Macquarie Marshes just as the wetlands start to recover from drought".
Gin Gin is in the Narromine Shire, just north of Trangie.
Garry Hall, a grazier whose property includes part of the Macquarie Marshes, told the Sydney Morning Herald he was keen to take part in another round of stakeholder meetings.
He was concerned, though, with the weir's structure and "opportunities for protocols that could undermine" whatever pledges the government made to secure its approval, the Herald reported.
Mel Gray, Convener of Healthy Rivers Dubbo told Dubbo Catches via a media release that "a plan to build an enormous regulating weir on the Macquarie River at Gin Gin will mean a significant reduction in small and medium flows getting through to Warren and further downstream to the Marshes and Barwon Darling".
"The river from Warren was already sacrificed to water mismanagement last summer, it looks like Dugald Saunders National Party are willing to sacrifice it on a regular basis," the statement continued.
"WaterNSW cannot be trusted not to break any promises they make to get this project built. Once a project is built, the rules can be changed with no further environmental assessment.
"WaterNSW have been legally obliged to build three fishways in the Macquarie River since 2011 - and we're still living on empty promises."
By way of a project update newsletter in April, WaterNSW said that they and delivery partner GHD are currently under taking a number of studies and assessments near the existing Gin Gin Weir location for input to the final business case.
Investigations include geo-technical, detailed land and river surveying. OzArk Environment & Heritage, a professional environmental, ecological and heritage services consultancy, have been engaged to under take a heritage assessment for the project.
The future of the existing Gin Gin Weir will also form part of the project, with studies to be under taken to assess a full or partial decommissioning.
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