Installing screens on irrigation infrastructure is unique at every site. This presentation focusses on a unique approach to water delivery at a shallow water location in Central West NSW that required an innovative screen retrieval design. The solution delivers fish-friendly water without compromising existing landowner water access. In a world first, this project successfully integrated a retrievable, modular fish screen system into a shallow, ephemeral stream reach where conventional t-screen designs were unfeasible due to highly variable water depths and the need to maintain pumping ability with these challenges.
The design incorporates a purpose-built retrieval system allowing the screens to be lifted clear of the water column during low-flow or maintenance periods while maintaining structural integrity and hydraulic performance during peak irrigation flows. The approach balances environmental outcomes—protecting native fish populations in the Murray-Darling Basin—with practical agricultural needs, demonstrating a scalable, low-impact solution for challenging shallow-water diversion sites.
Unscreened diversions in NSW remove up to 100 million native fish annually from waterways, undermining river health, recreational fishing, and complementary actions such as environmental water delivery, fish passage improvements and habitat restoration. Modern fish screening directly supports broader goals of native fish recovery in regulated river systems by balancing ecological protection with agricultural water needs. It provides a scalable, low-impact model for screening small-to-medium diversions, with potential to protect hundreds of thousands of native fish annually across the Basin. This presentation will detail site challenges, engineering innovations, stakeholder collaboration, and lessons learned for wider application in fish conservation.