DESPITE getting a taste of the rain that has NSW farmers hoping for an end to the drought, irrigators in Victoria and South Australia may not yet see any allocation increases from the flooding.
Rain that had fallen in NSW needed to make its way to the Menindee Lakes and Victorian farmers would only then benefit if the lakes reached a threshold triggering an allocation under inter-state water sharing agreements, according to Goulburn Murray Water resource manager Graeme Hannan.
Weather systems associated with tropical cyclone Lawrence have moved eastwards across Australia in the past fortnight but Mr Hannan told The Australian Financial Review it could take some weeks before the full impact was assessed.
Victorian Water Minister Tim Holding promised the state's new $750 million pipeline would be used even if there were no essential need for the water it carries because of increased flows to the Melbourne's dams.
The pipe allows Melbourne to pump water across the state divide and was built to secure the city's supply until a $3.5 billion desalination plant was completed.
* More on the floods in Stock Journal, January 7 issue.
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