Community update on response to fish deaths in Menindee

The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) will be stood-down from Friday 31 March 2023 as agencies expand their water monitoring to downstream of Menindee following fish kills in the lower Darling-Baaka River.

The EOC was established on Saturday 18 March 2023 at the direction of State Emergency Operations Controller, Deputy Commissioner Emergency Management Peter Thurtell, to ensure fresh and clean water supply was maintained to the Menindee township and properties surrounding the Main Weir pool, as well as to coordinate the removal and disposal of as many of the fish as possible.

NSW Police Force Regional Emergency Operations Controller, Assistant Commissioner Brett Greentree, said the EOC has delivered on its priorities in and around Menindee, but key agencies would remain vigilant with monitoring and actioning where new risks are identified.

Established contacts and processes for clean-up in the event it is required in the future are also in place.

The coordination of operations has now returned to the control of individual agencies. NSW and Commonwealth Government agencies are continuing to monitor conditions, take samples and test water, and take actions to try to improve conditions, including dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, in the Murray Darling Basin.

To read the full media release please see below.