Northern NSW irrigators have been banned from harvesting water until September, after the Menindee Lakes storage levels fell below a new 250 gigalitre trigger imposed by the state government.

Under the section 324 order NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson has banned irrigators taking water under their flood plain harvesting and supplementary licences on the regulated rivers in the Gwydir, Lower Namoi, Macquarie and Border Rivers region.

The order also restricts all forms of take on unregulated rivers, as well as Class B and C licences on the Barwon-Darling and other connected regulated streams.

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water director Allan Raine said “I want to be very clear that the implementation of Section 324 water restrictions is a decision the NSW government has not made lightly”.

“There isn’t an infinite amount of water in the system, so we must manage it carefully and equitably for towns, businesses, Aboriginal groups and the environment.

“In circumstances like this we have to make tough decisions and these temporary water restrictions are vital to help us meet critical human and environmental needs, minimise damage to ecosystems during drought and enable them to recover faster.”

But NSW Irrigators’ Council chief executive Dr Madeleine Hartley warned the restrictions risked causing significant and lasting harm to water users, regional economies and local food and fibre production.

“Water reform in NSW is starting to look like death by a thousand cuts to water users and irrigation-dependent communities,” Dr Hartley said.

The Menindee trigger had been set at 195GL, but was raised to 250Gl of active storage earlier this year, without irrigators being consulted.

Border Rivers Food and Fibre chairman and irrigator Brendan Griffiths said the trigger was raised due to the failure of the government to fix the Menindee Lakes Pamamaroo regulator, which would have allowed the storage to be more efficiently managed.

He said northern irrigators were now paying the price, with Border Rivers irrigators unable to tap into any major flows until the water reached 3000ML/day on the Barwon River three weeks downstream of their properties.

DCCEEW’s order states the ban “is a decisive step to ensure the state’s precious water sources are managed fairly and sustainably, to protect water for critical human and environmental needs amid ongoing dry conditions.

“The temporary restrictions provide vital protection by reducing the risk of critical water shortages that can severely damage water-dependent environments and, in extreme cases, cause the failure of surface water supply for towns and landholders.

“The 250 GL active storage trigger that guided the decision to implement Section 324 water restrictions is a result of continued dry conditions with minimum rain and flows expected.

“Under current operations and if dry conditions continue, DCCEEW estimates the state will have less than 12 months of water supply in the upper Menindee Lakes to meet critical human and environmental needs downstream. The NSW government will review the restrictions during and after every natural flow event to ensure they do not continue any longer than necessary.”