NATIVE rodents seen recently and a juvenile platypus spotted last year have been described as promising signs of recovery for a watercourse near Bathurst.
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The Winburndale Rivulet - which is dammed north-east of Bathurst and then runs into the Macquarie River south of Hill End - ran dry at one stage during the most recent big drought in Bathurst.
Bathurst Regional Council lost a Supreme Court of NSW case in June 2022 in regards to the correct interpretation of the operating licence conditions for the dam.
The dam's raw water supply is used for parks, gardens, open space and some key and significant businesses in town, as well as historically being relied upon to provide critical potable supply during drought.
A report later that year from council's director of engineering services, Darren Sturgiss, said council considered the Supreme Court matter to have been "close and complex" and said the depth of the discussion in the judgement appeared to accept that the conditions for the flow rules were unclear.
Michael Inwood from the Winburndale Waters Conservation Group said the recent rakali (native rodent) sightings were accidental and were made by different landholders along the rivulet.
"The two sightings of rakali were at Glanmire and the platypus was seen [last year] at Howards Bridge near the Bridle Track," he said.
"I have heard from a Duramana resident in the last two days that another rakali was seen in the Winburndale Rivulet there.
"These are very early days and the rakali and platypus sighted will have migrated up from the Macquarie River.
"This was expected and predicted by Professor David Goldney when he conducted the platypus survey after the drought and low flow release regime of Bathurst Regional Council from the Winburndale Dam."
Charles Sturt University adjunct professor and local ecologist Professor Goldney said in 2021 that Bathurst Regional Council's management of the Winburndale Rivulet between 2017 and 2019 had caused the extinction of the water body's platypus population.
"The extinction is almost entirely due to the low flows, which are completely unacceptable to maintain the conservation status of platypi," he said at the time.
Mr Inwood said Mr Goldney had predicted that "a recovery to near normal" in Winburndale Rivulet "would take around a decade".
"We have not seen any evidence of breeding yet, but as the rakali and platypus are higher order species, it augurs well for the ecology that underpins them," Mr Inwood said.
"I am sure we will have more sightings from now as well as a return of platypus breeding to the pools in the upper Winburndale as long as we have adequate flow."
Mr Inwood said the road to recovery might be long, but "with sustained efforts and responsible water management, we are optimistic about the prospects for the Winburndale Rivulet to heal and flourish once again".
Winburndale Dam recently got a $16 million upgrade, which included strengthening the dam walls using 25 post-tensioned ground anchors to bring the dam in line with modern safety standards and to ensure it can withstand all kinds of weather and floods.
