NSW government faces crunch call on water rights as drought deepens

NSW cabinet set to debate preventing irrigators from taking water from the Barwon-Darling river system during low-flow events

The New South Wales cabinet will this week consider whether to restrict irrigators in the Barwon-Darling from accessing water during low-flow events, as the drought in the west of the state deepens.

A highly critical report by the independent NSW Natural Resources Commission a month ago described the Barwon-Darling as "an ecosystem in crisis" and warned that "the current cease-to-flow period is the longest since records began".