Goolgowi irrigator Sally Jones calls for quality investigation into MIA water supply

Residents upstream of the NSW Riverina system have raised concerns over the quality of the water making its way into their town - particularly for irrigators who rely on good, pure water to grow crops, as well as those who simply drink and bathe in it.

Goolgowi irrigator Sally Jones has been measuring the water quality in the main canal and subsidiaries for the past several months following the 2022 floods and has recorded a spike in pollutants.

"I measured the quality in the northern canal, upstream near the East Mirrool Regulator," she said.

"The water in that canal was very poor, it was green and foamy. It had an electrical conductivity of over 300 which for this end of the system is very high," she said.

"I've got water going now and it's green, this is out at Tabbita. I'm irrigating in that water now, I'm covered in it ... It's about the health of the community both physically and economically."

Standing in a foot of sludge that her sediment traps had caught, she expressed concern for what could be making it's way through the filters and into the air.

Ms Jones expressed particular concern of cyanobacteria being flushed through the pipeline, and called for an investigation into the huge amounts of sediment and solids that have been filtered through her sediment traps.

"We're going to cycle water through so it keeps moving, but if those storages breed cyanobacteria - they're seeding it right through the system."

"I'd be very happy for an authority to come out and test for cyanobacteria and heavy metals, and salinity but salinity is unlikely to be deadly."

She said the first step needed to be better monitoring, noting that while councils monitor for live algae blooms, there was little monitoring of dead blooms that release the majority of toxins.

She called on Murrumbidgee Irrigation and councils to take a holistic approach to the issue.

"I think the monitoring is the first step ... It's not flourishing and I want to know what impact this water is having on the environment," she said.

"You need an ecology for agriculture."

As part of their environmental protection licence for irrigation, Murrumbidgee Irrigation currently conducts water monitoring at a number of locations.

Monitoring is often done to complement the recording of chemical use for vegetation management.

Monitoring is also done at five discharge points at the Gogeldrie drain at Gooragool Lagoon, the Roaches Escape at Cudgel Creek, the main southern drain at Yanco, the main southern drain at River Road Gogeldrie and the Mirrool Creek floodway at Wyvern Station.

According to MI's annual compliance report 2022, MI twice reported blue-green algae discharges at the red alert level on February 24 and March 11.

The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area is one of the most diverse and productive regions in the country, contributing billions of dollars to the Australian economy each year.