Platypus population collapse blamed on Bathurst council not releasing water from dam

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A council in west-central New South Wales has been accused of causing the local extinction of a platypus population by refusing to release water from one of its dams.

Key points: A report commissioned by Bathurst landowners found that the native platypus and water rats may be extinct in a local waterway. its license conditions and related requirements before the NSW Land and Environment Court

The Winburndale Waters Conservation Group (WWCG) commissioned Professor David Goldney of Charles Sturt University to determine the distribution, abundance and conservation status of the platypus and the native water rat Rakali in the river. Winburndale.

The 65-kilometer-long creek empties into the Macquarie River and the report says historical anecdotal data indicated that platypuses were once so widespread that they could be described as “common to abundant.”

Citizen scientists told Professor Goldney that it was “not uncommon” to see six platypuses at a time in a large pool between 1920 and 1960.

But local landowners can’t find any at all.

A section of the Winburndale Rivulet, pictured in January 2020. (

Provided: Winburndale Water Conservation Group

) ‘Fundamentally alocal extinction event’

WWCG spokesperson and nearby resident Michael Inwood said this could be directly attributed to the Bathurst Regional Council’s management of the Winburndale Dam, built over the creek nearly a century ago.

During the recent drought, the council did not release any water from the dam for environmental purposes.

“This stream is a beautiful pristine stream, and it is drought tolerant, the numbers show that now the water has been retained in the dam above and not let through, and it has caused a disaster. environmental, ”said Inwood.

He said that on three occasions there were requests made to the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) to ask the council to discharge environmental water into the stream, but each was rejected due to fears that the dam may be necessary to provide drinking water to the city.

The ABC saw a letter to the NRAR board describing that a discharge would normally be required, but explaining that it should not be applied as the dam was the city’s emergency drinking water supply to the main source, the Chifley Dam.

This was despite the town’s water supply from the Fish River, environmental flows only being released from the Chifley Dam at that time.

Mr Inwood said the environment was not the only victim of the lack of flow, as domestic stocks and licenses also lacked access to water during this time.

“The sad thing is that people actually did not have stock or domestic water, the holes from which they pump were completely dry and the environment of the stream was completely decimated,” he said. -he declares.

He called the loss of the platypus and rakali “essentially a local extinction event”.

Professor Goldney’s report says small populations may still exist upstream or inside the dam itself, but observations have demonstrated possible or complete extinction by early 2020.

He said the council’s refusal to meet its environmental release requirements for 16 years, including during the drought, had maintained a “flow deficit” in the creek.

“The probable reasons for the possible local extinction of the platypus population in the creek downstream of the dam are complex,” Professor Goldney said.

“However, the most significant negative impact was the lack of reserved flow.”

The Winburndale Rivulet pictured in July 2021, after drought conditions eased. (

Provided: Winburndale Water Conservation Group

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In January, the Bathurst Regional Council submitted a request to the NRAR to change the conditions of the approval of the Winburndale Dam, which required discharge to the creek.

“The Council’s request is to modify the permit to have fixed flow rates for each season which in total are approximately the same as the permits in place for the first 70 years of the life of the dam and provide for results which include a satisfactory safe yield. “said a staff member. report to the February board meeting said.

“The NRAR approach to interpret existing license conditions results in a very low and unsatisfactory secure performance, which has led to ongoing discussions. “

In a statement, the director of regional water regulation at NRAR, Graeme White, said the regulator was awaiting further information from the board before assessing the request, which was expected in late August.

Both parties are also before the Land and Environmental Court.

The board’s chief executive, David Sherley, said interpretations were being sought for “a variety of issues, in particular with respect to the term, secure performance.”

He did not answer questions about water use and platypus populations in the Winburndale River.

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