As voters head to the polls in New South Wales, irrigators in the central west are frustrated over a lack of progress on a promised dam upgrade.
In 2019, the NSW government committed to raising the Wyangala Dam wall near Cowra by 10 metres, which would increase its storage capacity by more than 50 per cent.
"For too long it's been talked about and today we draw a line in the sand," then-Premier Gladys Berejiklian said when announcing the project.
More than three years later, work hasn't begun. And the business case and environmental impact statement remain unfinished.
With the state election this weekend, NSW Labor said it needed more details before it could commit to the project.
"We don't know what it's going to cost. We don't know clearly what the benefits are. We don't know what the environmental impacts are going to be," Labor water spokesperson Rose Jackson said.
"What Labor is doing is being honest about the processes that we're going to follow … we haven't seen the documentation, we haven't seen the business case so we're unable to make commitments."
Frustration builds
The damage from last year's flooding in the area is still visible along the Lachlan River, with many irrigators unable to plant crops due to damaged pumps and irrigation channels.
Tom Green is the chair of Lachlan Valley Water, which represents water users in the region. He said they're fed up with a lack of progress.
"It was planned to start construction in 2020, so it's been very disappointing not to have seen it," he said.
Mr Green said a larger dam would have mitigated some of last year's devastating flooding and also saved more water for future use.
"People are frustrated. They just want to start to see programs happen. They're sick of hearing, 'yeah we're going to build it' and then not seeing anything happen," he said.
Environmental concerns
Not everyone is in support of the project which could have a price tag north of $2 billion.
Bev Smiles from the Inland Rivers Network said the environmental cost, including reduced water for wetlands, was too high.
"It captures the really important floods for the wetlands in the Lachlan Valley that are listed on the national list of important wetlands," she said.
Ms Smiles said a bigger dam would not have had any effect on last year's floods as operators were currently required to store as much water as possible for downstream users.
"New South Wales really needs to look closely at its dam management policy both for critical human needs in extreme drought … and the way they currently manage dams to keep them full as much as possible," she said.
Why the delay?
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment said it was in the process of finishing the final business case, which had been delayed due to COVID-19 and flooding.
The project would increase the total storage capacity by 650 gigalitres and deliver on average an extra 21 gigalitres every year for water users including irrigators and towns.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said the business case would investigate any benefits during flood events.
"The final business case is also investigating whether building a higher wall will have any flood mitigation benefits to provide greater protection for communities downstream," a spokesperson said.
NSW Water Minister Kevin Anderson said the project is critical to delivering water security, drought resilience and flood mitigation.
"The NSW government is committed to building significant water infrastructure in NSW, with work continuing on the final business case and environmental impact statement for this crucial project," he said.
