Water Watch Radio

This week on water watch we share a wholesome conversation between Dan and Menindee bird water Geoff Looney from a live event to launch his new book "Birds of the Menindee Lakes Area, compiled by Geoff Looney"  Geoff has been photographing and bird watching in and around Menindee for 30 years and his new book is the best guide for birders to find and identify any of the 207 bird species that Geoff...

This week we dig into the archives for an encore with veteran scientist and Honorary Professor in the Crawford School of the Australian National University, John Williams. John was a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and holds the prestigious Farrer Memorial Medal for achievement and excellence in agricultural science.  This conversation was first published on June 1st...

Last month, the NSW Connectivity Expert Panel handed down its final report, 12 months after the NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson established the Panel in response to a recommendation from the NSW Chief Scientists independent review of the 2023 Menindee Mass Fish Kills.  So today, we have the privilege of sharing an in-depth conversation with Amy Dula, the chair of the Connectivity Expert Panel, to...

Last month, the NSW Connectivity Expert Panel handed down its final report, 12 months after the NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson established the Panel in response to a recommendation from the NSW Chief Scientists independent review of the 2023 Menindee Mass Fish Kills.  So today, we have the privilege of sharing an in depth conversation with Amy Dula, the chair of the Connectivity Expert Panel, to...

This week, we continue our exploration of the Coorong with a conversation featuring Garry Hera-Singh, a fisherman whose roots run deep in the area. Garry is a proud third-generation fisherman on his father’s side and a fifth-generation fisherman on his mother’s side. He lives in the small town of Meningie on the shores of Lake Albert, and has been working in the Coorong's commercial fishing indust...

This week we are returning to the Coorong which we covered in a two part special series back in June after a fish kill of about 200,000 fish rocked the local community. Last month, Water Watch had the privilege of touring the Southern Lagoon with ecologist Faith Coleman, a dedicated local resident who was featured in our special coverage of the fish kills. Faith’s passion for restoring the Coorong...

Water Watch invites Marita Dyson of The Orbweavers to discuss songs about rivers and waterscapes, deepening our sense of time, change, and the ancient memory of water.  Marita Dyson writes melodies inspire by her experience of waterways, their history, and timeless character. This program was recorded and first broadcast in October 2022 Water Watch is produced by Broken Hill Community radio 2DRY....

This week it was my great privilege to interview two incredible musicians and water activists Nancy Bates and Aimee Volkovksy who have collaborated on a beautiful new song Blood Red Moon. Barkiindji/Wilyakali song writer Nancy Bates is a highly accomplished musician who has toured internationally and spent three years on the road with Uncle Archie Roach as a backing vocalist, guitarist and support...

This week it was my great privilege to interview two incredible musicians and water activists Nancy Bates and Aimee Volkovksy who have collaborated on a beautiful new song Blood Red Moon. Barkiindji/Wilyakali song writer Nancy Bates is a highly accomplished musician who has toured internationally and spent three years on the road with Uncle Archie Roach as a backing vocalist, guitarist and support...

This week we are diving back into a story we covered extensively back in April this year with an important update - The Wilcannia Weir Project. NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson has been out in Wilcannia talking to the community about this project and has agreed to pause the project and investigate the original proposal submitted to the Environmental Impact Statement Process.  If you haven't heard t...

For NAIDOC week, we look back on the view from First Nations people and groups at the Senate inquiry into the Restore Our Rivers Amendment to the Water Act and Basin Plan from 2023. Featuring: Sonia Cooper Yorta Yorta woman, Yorta Yorta Water Policy & Climate Research Officer for the Yorta Yorta Corporation. Dr. Kate Harriden Wiradjuri Woman, research fellow at Monash Sustainable development I...

This week we have a bit of arts and culture respite, but that's not to say its not going to get political! It was our great privilege this week to interview an artist we've been following for a very long time, Murrawarri, Philipino rapper and drummer, Rhyan Claphem, who calls himself DOBBY. DOBBY has just released his debut album Warrangu, river story and it is all about the great beauty and trage...

Hundreds of thousands of fish were reported dead in the Coorong at the bottom of the Murray Darling Basin.  In Part 2 we explore criticism that Government failed to deliver water to the South Lagoon when they had the chance.  Featuring: Glen Hill, Commercial Fisherman Nadine Kelly, Program Leader of Healthy Coorong Healthy Basin at the SA Department of Environment & Water Faith Coleman, Estuar...

This week, we will be turning our attention to a part of the Basin we’ve never talked much about, but its ecological health is an integral measure in the Basin Plan, and its ongoing health is important for the Murray Darling basin, around the country and the world.  We are talking about the Coorong, on the lands of the Ngarrindjeri people It's one of the most researched and well-funded wetlands in...

People of the lower-Darling Baaka River are breathing a collective sigh of relief after a flush of 45-50 GL fresh water has began its journey down the lower Darling-Baaka River below Menindee Lakes. This flush is intended to push a slug of algae infested river water right through the system into the Murray River and hopefully out to sea. But this flush has only been possible because of changes nee...

This week we continue our conversation with Dr Kate Harriden, Wiradjuri woman and Research Fellow in Indigenous water at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute on incorporating Indigenous ways of being in water management.  Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week 30 pelicans have been found dead or dying at Lake Menindee, is this another event in the ongoing water quality crisis or a simply and example of healthy bird out competing the counterparts?  We speak to river ecologist and conservation biologist Professor Richard Kingsford from the University of Queensland for insight on this problem.  And later in the program we hear from Dr Kate Harrid...

This week we continue the stories of Country and Culture from Ngaratya, the exhibition on display at the broken Hill City Art Gallery with a dip into the Water Watch Archive to share interview with Barkindji Malyangapa artist David Doyle & a special live recording of Leroy Johnson and the Waterbag band.  Check out the exhibition at: https://www.ngaratya.com.au/ Support the show: https://www.2d...

This week on water watch we speak with Zena Cumpston, artist and co-curator of the contemporary art exhibition Ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together) that opened at the Broken Hill City Art Gallery last week. The exhibition brings together six Barkandji/Barkindji artists including Nici Cumpston, Zena Cumpston, David Doyle, Kent Morris, Adrianne Semmens and Raymond Zada. with works inspi...

Last week, the anticipated interim report from the NSW Connectivity Expert Panel was published with a stirring response from irrigators and environmentalists alike.  If you listened to our episode last week, you’d know that we had the opportunity to sit down with the NSW Minister for Water Rose Jackson about the Wilcannia Weir replacement project, but we also spoke to her about this report.  The c...

We had the privilege this week of sitting down with NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson to talk through a number of state water management issues. And it has been a really big week of announcements with the much-awaited release of the Connectivity Expert Panel’s interim report which assesses the rules in all northern Basin water sharing plans… this report was born from last year's mass fish deaths at...

A new water quality monitoring project was launched in Menindee last week called Ngarratja Warrkina, which means ‘All Working Together’ in the Barkindji language. This project is a collaboration between the Barkindji Native Title Group, The NSW Environmental Protection Authority and the Department of Climate Change Energy Environment and Water. The program will provide training for Barkindji River...

This week we speak to the water campaigner at the NSW Conservation Council Mel Gray on the legal challenge they settled with the NSW government over failing to consider the impacts of climate change on water sharing, with background provided by Emma Carmody, the managing lawyer of the freshwater team at the Environmental Defenders Office Support the show: https://www.2dryfm.com/donate/ See omnystu...

Today we are continuing on with our coverage of the Wilcannia Weir Replacement Project. Last week, where we left of, the community could not understand why the government was exhibiting a completely new weir design in December 2023 after they had engaged with community in extensive consultation process to develop a weir design everyone was happy with.  But this week, we’re going deeper into that w...

This week we’ve got a big program lined up about a little project, you might not have heard much about: The Wilcannia Weir replacement. A new weir for Wilcannia, a small town located on the Darling-Baaka River, has been a project that has been on the table for over 50 years and attempted many times. In 2018, it seemed the project would finally be delivered and after two years of consultation the c...