Chair of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority Neil Andrew, said the meetings in Albury and Wodonga over the past two days were an opportunity for the MDBA to further explain the agency's role and to listen to community concerns.
"We'd like to thank Minister Ley and Ms McGowan for inviting us to meet with a range of important local stakeholders," Mr Andrew said.
"We were glad people could share their views so candidly. In particular, we heard about the need for timely and accurate information so business people, land holders and residents alike could manage their own risks.
"Operating Hume Dam is a critically important job that the MDBA takes very seriously, and which benefits communities the length of the Murray River.
"The MDBA is one of several agencies with a role during times of high flow. The water we release from the dam is factored into their information about Murray River heights and flooding, including the Bureau of Meteorology's flood watches and flood warnings.
"We were pleased that the BoM and WaterNSW were able to join us in Wodonga for detailed discussion about how the three agencies can together provide information more specific to the needs of businesses in this reach.
"As managers of Hume Dam, we need to ensure the safety of the dam, fill it as close to capacity as possible and, thirdly, mitigate flooding downstream."
The meetings heard that, together, Hume and Dartmouth dams protect downstream communities from 70 per cent of floods that would occur.
"As it happened, this was one of the other 30 per cent of years, with a series of rain events that kept inflows very high, resulting in most of the later season inflow passing through the dam," Mr Andrew said.
"However, by constantly monitoring and adjusting releases in September and October, the MDBA stopped flooding around Albury from being even worse."
Following the meetings, Mr Andrew acknowledged improved communication between agencies was needed in response to the issues raised. Mr Andrew said there was
agreement between the MDBA, WaterNSW and the Bureau of Meteorology that this would be explored further over the coming months.
"It is also important for people to stay updated by the BoM and continue their registration to WaterNSW's Early Warning Network. These are the most current and accurate sources of information about what's happening on the river."
ENDS
For more information, contact the MDBA Media office at media@mdba.gov.au or 02 6279 0141
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