The drought continues to put pressures on agri producers in Queenland’s Wide Bay-Burnett region; growers are now facing 'historically low' announced water allocations from July 1. Significant rainfall has avoided the region. This is coupled with fears that the region's major water source, Paradise Dam, could run out of water following the state’s decision to lower its wall by 50 per cent.
With Sunwater expected to release its official 2021-22 announced allocations within the next month, experts predict that medium priority users on the Bundaberg (Burnett sub-scheme) water supply scheme will only receive allocations of between 14 and 17 percent. Before the remediation of the Paradise Dam wall, farmers had averages of 80 percent or more water allocation.
Wide Bay-Burnett citrus enterprise Spencer Ranch has more than 62,500 citrus trees in the ground across 156 hectares in Wallaville. Head farmer Will Thompson told queenslandcountrylife.com.au: "Our farm is going to go from 100pc allocation, which was too late to do anything with my last growing season, to on the first of July, to go to potentially between 14 and 17pc allocation.”
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