Water cut halt sought

PRUNE THE CUTS: Coonawarra Vignerons president Pete Balnaves has called for the next round of water cuts to irrigators to be halted.
PRUNE THE CUTS: Coonawarra Vignerons president Pete Balnaves has called for the next round of water cuts to irrigators to be halted.

A PROMINENT Coonawarra wine industry leader has called on the state’s environment department to halt planned cuts to the sector’s water allocation.

This comes as the department confirmed a further 3.75pc will be trimmed from irrigators in the 3A management zone, which covers Coonawarra’s expansive wine industry.

It is estimated the cut will take around $2m of water from the zone, which is part of a stepped 15pc reduction.

Coonawarra Vignerons president Pete Balnaves has called for the cuts – to be swept in on July 1 – to be put on hold given the “trending up” of the aquifer’s water table.

He said the cuts would take $2m of water out of the region, which potentially equated to millions of dollars in lost production.

Acknowledging the water plan was a vital blueprint in protecting the water balance, Mr Balnaves said it must now be reviewed given the above average rainfall over the past two years.

“The environment department should introduce an adoptive management approach,” he said.

Mr Balnaves said the lift in the aquifer’s water level was visible and in some areas west of the zone it had come to the surface.

He said although the industry agreed to the cuts when the aquifer was dropping, the cuts must be reassessed and a balance struck to protect the environment and industry.

“I do not believe the industry is being unreasonable,” Mr Balnaves told The Border Watch.

He said there was no point in taking water away from industry if it was not necessary.

According to the Department of Water, Environment and Natural Resources, the Lower Limestone Coast water allocation plan was put in place to ensure the long-term sustainability of the region’s water resources.

“Developing the water allocation plan involved significant research, community and stakeholder consultation and took into account the economic impacts to local industries,” a department spokesperson
said.

“The water allocation plan puts in place reductions to water allocations to ensure the sustainability of water resources, which were extensively communicated to impacted stakeholders in the 3A management zone, which incorporates the Coonawarra region.”

The 3.75pc occurred on July 1, 2016 and a second round of reductions – a further 3.75pc – is due on July 1.

“The water allocation plan allows for an interim review before July 1, 2019, before the third round of reductions being implemented,” the spokesperson said.

“This review will include an extensive assessment of the groundwater resource, including long-term trends in monitoring and usage data.

“Should the review find the condition of the 3A management zone has improved to the extent where the risk category can be changed to moderate or low, consideration will be given to halting reductions at this
time.”

While water levels for the zone have partially recovered and stabilised since 2010, they remain about two metres below historic
levels.