A stop work order has been issued covering operation of the Boera Dam river regulator in Toorale National Park following an extensive investigation by the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).

Chief Regulatory Officer Grant Barnes said NRAR issued the order yesterday (Wednesday, August 6) because the operation of certain water infrastructure allegedly did not fully account for water use, as required by the Water Management Act.

Mr Barnes said many months of investigation into the complex situation on Toorale had concluded that even though the water infrastructure was operated according to National Parks and Wildlife Service operating and maintenance plans, it still did not account for all water taken.

"That means that some water has not been recorded, or debited against a water entitlement,” Mr Barnes said. “It is a fundamental part of the water regulation system that all water taken is accurately measured and accounted for,” he said.

"The entitlements held by the Commonwealth in the Warrego system are the same as those held by any private individual or corporation in any system in NSW - the same rules apply. "Existing rules require licence holders account for water taken even if it's used for environmental watering purposes."

Mr Barnes said transparent and consistent application of the law was crucial to ensuring public confidence in the state’s water management system.

The action ny NRAR comes on the back of calls from Member for Barwon Roy Butler MP for an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry into use of environmental water at Toorale Station.

“I have been raising my concerns about the management of water on Toorale for years and have never been satisfied with the information I have received back,” Mr Butler said last week.

“The stated intent of purchasing Toorale and having the Commonwealth manage the water is to increase the flows from the Warrego River into the Darling River.

“But, speaking with locals along the Warrgeo and Darling rivers, it is clear that a different set of rules is being applied to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.”

Water management within Toorale National Park is complex and multi layered. All related water allocation, works and approvals are owned or controlled by NSW and Commonwealth government entities.

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder has large water entitlements in the Warrego system that are used for environmental watering purposes.

This water is primarily used to water the Western Floodplain of the Warrego to support and sustain this significant ecological system.

The Conservation Programs Heritage and Regulation Group (CPHR) of DCCEEW is responsible for the control and management of works on Toorale, including operating the works, measuring and recording water taken by the works and reporting of water taken.

"We recognise the community is concerned about the use of water in Toorale National Park and believe government agencies should model best practice water management to the wider community,” Mr Barnes said.

The Boera Dam is a complicated mix of historic and modern structures including three gates, dam wall, diversion channel and low banks downstream of the river regulator that control the flow of water from the floodplain to the river. It operates according to the national park’s operating and maintenance plans.

Before it was bought by the NSW Government for environmental conservation in 2008, Toorale was an agricultural station covering 91,000 hectares.

When owned by irrigation pioneer Samuel McCaughey in the 1890s, it was among the biggest sheep stations in the world.

Man-made dams, levees, regulators and wetlands were created over the 150 years of its operation for grazing and irrigated crops. It is now a national park that supports a large and diverse system of wetlands.

In 2020, the three gate Boera Dam regulator was built as a way to deliver water to the Western Floodplain of the Warrego River.