Two new fishways are being created and five others designed in projects by State Water in conjunction with the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water and Industry and Investment NSW as part of the Rivers Environmental Restoration Program.

Fishways will be built at Marebone Weir, 50km north of Warren on the Macquarie River and Tarabah Weir in Leeton on Yanco Creek and will allow fish to migrate past barriers such as weirs and dams.

State Water chief executive officer George Warne said work on the projects is progressing well with construction tenders for Tarabah Weir to be advertised this week.

“Unfortunately works at Marebone Weir were disrupted by a rapid rise in the river due

to recent rain and a contractor related structural setback but we are pleased to report construction remains on budget.

“Both Tarabah and Marebone fishways should be completed by springtime this year, coinciding with the seasonal increase in fish movement.”

Surrounding economies will derive some flow-on benefits from the fishway projects, in addition to environmental advantages, he said.

“In total, the RERP projects are investing $10 million into

infrastructure to improve biodiversity, wetland recovery

and river restoration,” Mr Warne said.

“In the $3.5 million Marebone fishway project the contractor employed local subcontractors to carry out some of the works, meaning the local area will retain part of this multi-million dollar investment.”

The RERP is jointly funded by the NSW Government and the Australian Government’s Water for the Future - Water

Smart Australia program and aims to arrest the decline of wetlands through water recovery, effective management of environmental water and the sustainable management of our wetlands.