Drought-Stricken Australian Region to Spend $680 Million on Dams

(Bloomberg) -- Australia plans to invest about A$1 billion ($680 million) to build and upgrade dam facilities in rural parts of New South Wales, seeking to bolster access to water in a region that’s experiencing one of its worst droughts on record.

The national and state governments will jointly fund an upgrade of the Wyangala Dam, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) west of Sydney, and construct the new Dungowan Dam near Tamworth, about 400 kilometers north of the state’s capital, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday.

Beef producers, cotton growers and gold miners are among industry sectors that have been grappling with the impact of restricted water supply. GrainCorp Ltd. in August lowered its earnings estimate, citing issues including the drought, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week cut a forecast on Australia’s wheat output.

Read more: Drought Forces Australia to Make Rare Import of Canada Wheat

Over the past six months, some parts of New South Wales on Australia’s eastern coast have seen the lowest recorded inflows of water entering rivers and storage systems in history, according to WaterNSW, operator of the region’s supply system.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.