{"id":695668,"date":"2026-05-26T12:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/695668\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:38:13","slug":"martuwarra-fitzroy-river-groundwater-plan-environmentalists-warn-of-risks-to-endangered-freshwater-sawfish-and-ecosystem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/695668\/","title":{"rendered":"Martuwarra Fitzroy River groundwater plan: Environmentalists warn of risks to endangered freshwater sawfish and ecosystem"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Environmentalists warn a major river in northern Western Australia and its inhabitants \u2013 including the endangered freshwater sawfish \u2013 are under threat from a groundwater management plan that will result in the equivalent of more than 31,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools being taken from the region each year.<\/p>\n

The WA government says the draft plan provides a clear framework for managing the Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment, and delivers on an election commitment to protect the river while \u201csupporting sustainable economic opportunities for communities, environmental priorities and pastoral interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe freshwater sawfish is listed as critically endangered globally by the IUCN Red List. In Australia, where one of the world\u2019s last major strongholds exists, the species is listed as endangered. Bob Mackenzie<\/p>\n

The river is the state\u2019s largest, stretching more than 700 kilometres across the West Kimberley with a catchment area of 90,000 square kilometres.<\/p>\n

However, concerns have been raised over its proposed management \u2013 particularly plans to more than double groundwater extraction from the current 32 gigalitres each year to nearly 76 gigalitres.<\/p>\n

One standard Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 0.0025 gigalitres.<\/p>\n

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Australian Marine Conservation Society shark and ray campaign manager Leonardo Guida said the freshwater sawfish was already on the brink, and warned the plan could push them over the edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Martuwarra Fitzroy is the global reference point for what a relatively healthy and undisturbed population looks like, and with northern Australia being the last place on the planet the species has a chance of recovering, protecting the river is an absolutely fundamental part of supporting that recovery,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery litre taken from tropical systems like this has an impact \u2013 if this draft plan allows more groundwater to be taken it increases the risk that there will be negative impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guida said it was important to get the management plan right, and further precautions were necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a key milestone for this river \u2013 the state government and governments of all levels have the opportunity to get this water plan right, to put in place safeguards for species like the sawfish and protect this river for everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Environs Kimberley executive director Martin Pritchard said groundwater-fed refuge pools allowed the freshwater sawfish to survive the Kimberley region\u2019s dry spells.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe underground water stores that feed these refuge pools are absolutely critical in a landscape that\u2019s so hot and dry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSawfish won\u2019t survive without these pools, which also provide life support for barramundi, a whole range of other fish, freshwater prawns, and big trees and vegetation that sustain birds, possums, bats and insects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pritchard said he was concerned the water could eventually be used for fracking, with a proposal by Black Mountain Energy for 20 oil and gas wells stating it would need two billion litres to operate.<\/p>\n

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Another concern raised was that there had been no study into how the current use of groundwater had impacted the region.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the Auditor General also released a scathing report stating the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation was not monitoring water extraction from the state\u2019s aquifers effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kimberley is the most intact tropical savannah on the planet,\u201d Pritchard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t know what the current impacts are, we shouldn\u2019t be opening the doors to take more \u2013 it would be completely reckless.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said one gigalitre of water was enough to irrigate 100 hectares, and therefore additional water usage also opened the doors to further clearing of land for agricultural use \u2013 something he described as unacceptable.<\/p>\n

Conservation scientist Angela Pursey analysed the draft plan and said expanding groundwater extraction was an incredibly risky proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven relatively small drops in groundwater levels in a system like the Fitzroy can translate into significant changes in river flows, wetlands and dry-season refuges,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this expansion goes ahead, we risk the collapse of entire ecosystems that depend on these waterholes and once they\u2019re gone, they\u2019re almost impossible to bring back.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Department of Water and Environmental Regulation spokesperson said the groundwater plan was necessary to \u201cprotect the vital connection between surface water and groundwater, set clear allocation limits and support sustainable economic development while safeguarding the river\u2019s cultural and environmental values.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis draft is based on conservative assessments of sustainable groundwater recharge and reflects years of engagement that delivers a balanced approach,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the draft plan, no new dams or surface water licences will be granted on the Fitzroy River or its tributaries, and further groundwater extraction from aquifers connected to the river is restricted.<\/p>\n

\u201cProposed allocation limits totalling 75.7 gigalitres per year for groundwater have been suggested. No allocation limits were previously set for groundwater in the Fitzroy River catchment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafeguards for sawfish and other aquatic species are embedded throughout the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The draft plan is open for public comment<\/a> until June 30.<\/p>\n

Community information sessions are also being held in Perth, Broome, Derby, Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"HollyHolly Thompson<\/a> is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":695669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-695668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/695669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}