People have started visiting the outback town of Pooncarie just to see a place that’s running dry.
Josh Sheard, the publican at the Pooncarie hotel, says the remote town in far south-west New South Wales needs the attention.
“The community are mostly happy to see people, and have a yarn,” Sheard says. “The town is still here, and we’re not going anywhere. There’s businesses that rely on passing trade.”
It sits on the dwindling lower Darling River, about 100 kilometres south of Menindee. Menindee has become a symbol of the dire state of the river system, after millions of dead fish washed up over summer.
Pooncarie’s drinking water comes from a bore, but raw water for toilets and outdoor use has been trucked in by the Wentworth Shire council since September.
The council says that with little to no rainfall over winter, the “zero flow” river conditions will linger.
Visitors are curious to see a drying river first hand.
“Until you see it yourself, you wouldn’t believe what it looks like. It’s generally a pretty little town, but everything is dying off,” Sheard says.
With 97.2% of NSW in drought, concerns about water supplies are not confined to the outback.
There are 40 water storages across the state with less than six months’ supply in a “worst case scenario”, according to figures from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.
Water supplies in large regional centres such as Tamworth, Orange and Dubbo – which have a combined population of roughly 140,000 – are among those identified as being “high risk”.
Warragamba Dam, which supplies water to millions of people in Sydney, is sitting below 50%, while a desalination plant works to top up the supply.
In regional areas, councils stress that predictions of an imminent water disaster do not take back-up systems into account.
A complicated and so far incomplete network of bores, water diversions, pipelines, and emergency infrastructure such as pumps and weirs are designed to stave off a so-called “day zero”.
Most rural communities also have water restrictions, and it is typical for people to shower with buckets at their feet to capture water, reuse baths on gardens, and drive dust-coated cars.
Nyngan, a town of about 2,000 in the centre of NSW, is one of the communities listed as having less than six months’ supply.
Behind the bright blue and yellow gates of the local pool, hundreds of children spent the school holidays splashing around in water set aside under a special allocation.
The sparkling aquamarine water couldn’t be more different from the Bogan River, about one kilometre down the road.
“It’s low and awful, and a bit green,” says Scott Bartley, the pool manager and lifelong Nyngan resident. “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it. Kids [usually] use the river in summer, but you can’t swim there now.”
Nyngan is one of many towns serviced by Burrendong dam, which is on the Macquarie River and is sitting at below 5%.
The Bogan shire mayor, Ray Donald, says Nyngan and surrounding villages have been assured of water supplies from the river until at least the middle of 2020.
Water authorities are raising the Warren weir to divert flows, and the town will have access to deep water storage pumped from the dam.
The council is also exploring potential bore sites for underground water.
The shire is on level 3 water restrictions, which mean residents can only use water outdoors during certain hours.
“It’s a situation that hasn’t occurred before, so we’re going into uncharted territory and it’s very stressful,” Donald said. “But if [the worst case scenario] does happen, it’s not going to happen next week.”
Five hours east of Nyngan sits Tamworth, a regional city home to more than 60,000 people.
Tamworth’s Chaffey dam is below 20% and residents are urged to use no more than 150 litres of water per person per day.
Level five water restrictions ban lawn and garden watering, and the council suggests residents take short showers, and use washing machines for full loads only.
Elva Shumack, from the Country Women’s Association, says only one previous drought rivals this one.
The 80-year-old can still picture the Macdonald River running dry on her family farm near Tamworth in the 1940s.
Today, she says the view from her window in town is depressing.
“Trees in the streets are starting to die. If you look up on the skyline, you can see through trees that you could never see through before.”
Shumack says neighbours are having to let go of their gardens, an important part of country living.
“I find they’re a bit of joy in your life. It’s civilised living if you’ve got a bit of a garden.”
But, she says brightly, her lavender is surviving surprisingly well on reused washing water.
Tamworth regional council has assured residents the city “will not have a day zero”.
It points to temporary weirs being built on the Peel River and the construction of a pipeline linking Chaffey dam to the smaller Dungowan dam.
Tamworth’s famed country music festival will go ahead in January. Council data shows there is not a significant impact on water consumption during the 10-day event, as some locals leave to rent out their houses to visitors.
The city hopes the usual crowd of 50,000 people per day will flock in and add $50 million to the economy. Locals say that support is needed more than ever.
“Absolutely, we’re telling people ‘please come’,” a council spokeswoman says.
In other large regional centres identified as “high risk”, local governments are trying to calm fears about water.
Orange, in the central west, relies on a number of dams, creeks, and a pipeline to the Macquarie River.
The city’s total storage has fallen to 30%. Level five water restrictions ban most outdoor water use, and authorities implore people to take three minute showers, and one shallow bath per household per day.
A stormwater harvesting system, which collects rain from roads, car parks and roofs, adds water to the supply when potential run-off is lost to parched paddocks.
Dubbo, west of Orange, gets water from the drying Burrendong dam, like Nyngan. Dubbo will tap into bore water if the Macquarie River stops flowing next year.
It is looking into stormwater harvesting, and recycled water.
Residents will move onto tough level four restrictions in November for the first time in the city’s history, but they’ve been warned households are still using too much water.
“Dubbo regional council would like to think this is the beginning of a behavioural change period for our community that will serve us well into the future,” the council says.
After eight decades of rural living, Shumack sees the persistent drought as one of many challenges for people in regional areas.
“If it’s not drought, it’s probably floods, or fires, or a price slump in the livestock market, or there’s health issues if you can’t get to a good hospital.
“All these things need steadfast perseverance and resilience.”
