Ross Billabong sits within Toorale National Park near the confluence of the Warrego and Darling-Baaka Rivers in north-western NSW. In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries the billabong was modified to support irrigated agricultural production. Modification included damming, the establishment of a training wall and water pumping from the Darling River. From 2008, Toorale Station was converted into a National Park. Since then the pumps have been decommissioned, a dam removed and the training wall has been breached to improve connectivity to the Darling-Baaka. Additional deconstruction of the training wall is planned to further improve connectivity.
While these decommissioning actions have clear environmental objectives, the local Kurnu-Baakandji people are interested in maintaining elevated water levels in Ross Billabong to store cultural water. To support ongoing discussions, we assessed how recent and future works may change the capacity of the billabong, how they may influence hydrological connectivity and what that might mean for connectivity, inundation and the ecology. While the capacity of Ross Billabong may reduce by up to 30%, the increased connection with the Darling River will likely increase the duration of inundation in the billabong, allow more movement of aquatic species and boost productivity. This case study highlights that environmental and cultural needs might not always directly align and that clear communication and understanding are key to getting the best outcomes for the majority.