Landowners along the Murrumbidgee River are being urged to seek expert advice as the NSW Government begins negotiating flood easements under its ambitious Reconnecting River Country Program.

Since August 29, 2025, the Government has been approaching property owners between Darlington Point and Balranald to secure easements that would allow increased water flows to environmental wetlands and floodplains.

The stakes are considerable; the maximum flow limit at the Wagga Wagga gauge could nearly double from 22,000 megalitres per day to 40,000 megalitres per day. Bobbie Pannowitz, a solicitor at Griffith based Cater & Blumer Solicitors, says the program represents a significant shift in water policy with potentially substantial impacts for affected landowners.

“The NSW Government has embarked on a very ambitious piece of water policy with the Reconnecting River Country Program,” Ms Pannowitz said.

“The program is designed to relax constraints along the Murrumbidgee River to deliver more environmental water, more often, to off-river wetlands and floodplains.

“To secure these flows, the NSW Government needs to obtain easements from landowners, to enable flooding or inundation of parts of their land.”

The timeframes are tight. Landowners who receive invitations to negotiate have just 28 days to respond, followed by a 12-month negotiation window. While the increased flows won’t commence until 2031, negotiations are happening now.

“Landowners should expect to receive invitations to negotiate, or may have already, which they will then have 28 days to respond to, and a further 12 months to negotiate,” Ms Pannowitz explained.

The Government is required to compensate landowners for the easements, considering factors including the extent of inundation, current land use, impact on third parties, and the market value of the land.

However, there’s a catch; if landowners fail to reach an agreement, easements could be compulsorily acquired.

Recognising the complexity of the negotiations and the need for landowners to understand their rights, Cater & Blumer Solicitors is hosting a free Easement Negotiation Information Session at midday Thursday November 13 in Balranald.

"At Cater & Blumer Solicitors, we identified a need for landowners to obtain more information about this Program and how to negotiate the best possible outcome, they need to engage in negotiations and get the right advice to do so,” Ms Pannowitz said. “We strongly encourage affected landowners to attend and learn more about their rights.”

Interested landowners can register for the session through the Cater & Blumer Facebook page, Instagram page, or website.