As prolonged drought bites deeply in New South Wales and Queensland,
and regional towns run out of water, state and federal governments are
continuing their push to deliberately dry out the Menindee Lakes.
The Menindee Lakes, located in far west NSW near the town of
Menindee, are a chain of big shallow lakes along the Darling River that
form an important water storage system.
Although politicians claim there is too much evaporation from the
lakes and associated wetlands, ecologists state that they are a key part
of maintaining water flows and preventing mass fish kills in the river
systems. They have also pointed out that the lakes are crucial migratory
waterbird habitats and key fish breeding areas.
