Many farmers in East Gippsland have sold off half their herds as they continue to battle extreme dry conditions.
"The Millennium Drought we could tick over, but water’s such a big issue now that our place up in the high country, we’ll probably totally de-stock in the next six weeks if it doesn’t get any run-off rain," he said.
"We’ve actually cleaned out 24 dams, we’ve sold 15 per cent of the dairy herd, 25 per cent of the beef herd, and the rest of the beef herd is on agistment in New South Wales.
Our family sent cattle to Queensland in the 1890s and my cattle are in New South Wales today.
To get a sense of just how bad it is, Mr Nixon said people only needed to look at the number of cattle being sold at the Bairnsdale saleyards.
He said more awareness was needed of the drought conditions farmers in the region were going through.
"There’s no declaration of drought as there used to be, so a lot of farmers might be unaware that they can apply for these drought concessional loans."
Dairy farmer Royston Nettleton is Mr Nixon’s neighbour and said he would be applying for a loan.
"Even if we get a lot more rain now we still aren’t going to get enough run-off to fill the water supplies, so I think a lot of people in the hill country will have to reduce their stock numbers.
Heading into winter, Mr Honey said locals were not feeling confident about the season ahead.

Chandigarh Kaushalya Dam may go dry within month; HUDA to launch drive against wastage Rajinder Nagarkoti Panchkula, April 14 While there is unending wait for additional water supply from the Kajauli waterworks to Panchkula, the city is staring at water crisis as the supply from The Kaushalya Dam will be stopped in coming days.
Top officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and the Irrigation Department are too tight-lipped over the development.
Meanwhile, city residents have started facing low water pressure.
Monika Sethi, a resident of Sector 16, said, “The authorities have no long-term plan.
They only wake up in summer.
Otherwise, they don’t bother about water scarcity in the city.” Varun Gupta, a resident of Sector 7, said HUDA should take up the matter of the supply from the Kajauli waterworks with the Chandigarh Administration.
Imagine their plight in the month of June,” he said.
Increasing demand behind scarcity An increase in the demand for water and the failure to improve the supply are causing the scarcity.
As per experts, the demand for water had increased to 5-6 MGD, but the supply has not been increased proportionately.
The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had spent Rs 23 crore on laying a pipeline from the dam to Panchkula.

Shrinking reservoirs in Morocco, India, Iraq and Spain could spark the next “day zero” water crisis, according to the developers of a satellite early warning system for the world’s 500,000 dams.
Drastic conservation measures have forestalled that moment in South Africa, but dozens of other countries face similar risks from rising demand, mismanagement and climate change, say the World Resources Institute (WRI).
The last time the dam was so depleted, grain production fell by half and more than 700,000 people were affected, it said.
Pressure on this water source will grow later this year when a new water transfer project links it to the city of Marrakech.
Water levels are historically low at Al Massira Dam (Morocco) Standfirst … surface area (sq km) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Guardian graphic In Iraq, the Mosul Dam has seen a more protracted decline but it is also now down 60% from its peak in the 1990s as a result of low rainfall and competing demand from Turkish hydropower projects upstream on the Tigris and Euphrates.
As in Syria and increasingly also Iraq, water stress has added to conflict and been a driver for relocations of people from the countryside.
Water levels at Mosul Dam (Iraq) Standfirst … surface area (sq km) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Guardian graphic Tensions have also been apparent in India over the water allocations for two reservoirs connected by the Narmada river.
Water levels at Indira Sagar Dam (India) Standfirst … surface area (sq km) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Guardian graphic The social risks are lower in industrialised countries that are less dependent on agriculture and more economically resilient.
Water levels at Buendia Dam (Spain) Standfirst … surface area (sq km) 0 10 20 30 40 2005 2010 2015 Guardian graphic All four dams are in the mid-latitudes, the geographic bands on either side of the tropics where climate change is expected to make droughts more frequent and protracted.
“There are lots of potential Cape Towns in the making.

During a media briefing last week, Umgeni Water warned that there are serious water shortages in this dam, which ultimately supplies water to an estimated six million consumers in uMgungundlovu, Pietermaritzburg, Durban, iLembe, Middle South Coast (Ugu) and Ixopo (Harry Gwala DM).
An estimated two million consumers are dependent on Albert Falls for water.
Today we hosting media at the Albert Falls Dam, sharing our plans towards ensuring that the water crisis is managed in the province #waterislife #UmgeniWatercares pic.twitter.com/TXuSOLJ1wn — Umgeni Water (@UmgeniWater) February 13, 2018 The Mgeni system comprises, in its upper part, Mearns Weir, Spring Grove Dam and Midmar Dam and in its lower part Albert Falls, Nagle and Inanda dams.
It ultimately supplies water to an estimated four million consumers in uMgungundlovu, Pietermaritzburg, Durban and in the north of Ugu.
Of great concern to Umgeni Water is the level of Albert Falls, a strategically important dam that has consistently remained at under 30% for at least two years.
A complication is the high evaporation rate of surface water at Albert Falls, and current high temperatures are not assisting in preservation of water resources.
Indeed we have seen large rainfalls but we urge households to continuously save water – Mr Steve Gillham #WaterIsLife pic.twitter.com/fBWQZ8YMnf — Umgeni Water (@UmgeniWater) February 13, 2018 During a Mgeni system Joint Operations Committee JOC meeting, it was decided that water restrictions of 15% in about 80% of Durban, all of Pietermaritzburg and all of uMgungundlovu will remain in place.
Here is your weekly dam update: The Vaal River System consisting of 14 dams serving mainly Gauteng Sasol and Eskom is at 93.1%.
Here are the latest dam percentages throughout the country: For a more in depth rainfall update, visit WeatherSA or click here.
For a comprehensive drought status report from the Department of Water and Sanitation, click here.

But the country’s 4 000 privately owned dams would not translate to a solution to the country’s water access problems, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation.
“I think people only look at the fact that 4 000 dams are privately owned as compared to the 320 dams owned by government, when actually the capacity of [the latter] is about 90% of the water available in the country.
The 4 000 private dams are also spread in terms of ownership and their existence within the law.
Water resource expert Anthony Turton said Chauke’s statements were more political than practical, given that water resources were already nationalised in 1998 under the National Water Act, a law he said government had failed to implement.
“I would argue that the problems we are having in the country are a manifestation of the act; that the resource has been nationalised when the government lacks the capacity to manage that resource.
And now we want to nationalise even more, and this is just a bankrupt, ideological argument.” In a bid to lend a hand to government in alleviating the Cape Town water crisis, farmers from the Overberg region began the release of 10 billion litres of private water into Cape Town’s reticulation system.
For instance, it is farmers’ money that created our dams, and billions went into creating the dams in our valley and that is all privately funded dams that were built 40 years ago with the thought that one day we may need a little more.
“To nationalise [those] dams, what are you going to do with that?
The GWUA said it regularly pumps billions of litres of surplus water into Cape Town’s system, depending on the supply available in that year.
Our water surplus varies between nine billion litres up to 27 billion.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says a plan is being worked on to access the remaining 10% of water still available in the Theewaterskloof Dam.
The Western Cape is suffering from a severe drought, which has threatened to empty the city’s water supply.
The department released a statement on Sunday following a media tour of the site at the Theewaterskloof Dam.
“The Department of Water and Sanitation is currently assisting with drilling into the Table Mountain Group Aquifer as part of the effort to combat the water scarcity in the area,” the statement read.
“There is also a plan underway to access the 10% of water still in the Theewaterskloof Dam to increase capacity in the Western Cape Water Supply System.” The remaining 10% in the Theewaterskloof Dam is largely regarded as unusable if used through the current dam system.
Desired drilling depth of 250 metres Drilling started on Saturday, February 10, “with the current drilling having intruded various formations of sandstone and shale-like material after which reaching a hard rock formation at 28 metres”.
It said the depths of water strikes are at 39 metres and 46 metres.
“A preliminary blow yield was conducted at a depth of 55 metres which yield was measured at 1L per second.” During the media tour this week, the drilling was at a depth of 84 metres.
An ultimate desired depth of 250 metres is being looked at, it said.
The department urged residents to practice strict water saving methods and to adhere to the water restrictions imposed in their respective areas, especially the City of Cape Town.

Cape Town – This is not the first time Cape Town has faced a severe water shortage and has put extreme measures in place to stretch its water supply.
The Weekend Argus visited five dams built in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as the the Waterworks Museum on Table Mountain, this week.
These dams were built to provide water to the various areas to the city.
Arne Singel, a former manager of the bulk water branch of the City of Cape Town bulk, accompanied the Weekend Argus and provided information about the reasons for construction of the various dams.
The Woodhead and the Hely Hutchinson dams were built by the then Corporation of the City of Cape Town and the Victoria, Alexandra and De Villiers dams were built by the then Wynberg municipality.
The Alexandra dam was built first and completed in 1893 and lifted further in 1902.
The Victoria dam was completed in 1896, and the Woodhead in 1897, followed by the Hely Hutchinson in 1904 and the De Villiers in 1910.
All five dams still form part of the city’s drinking water supply, said Ian Neilson, Cape Town deputy mayor.
The Woodhead and Hely Hutchinson dams can provide water to Camps Bay and the high-lying areas of the City Bowl, while the Victoria, Alexandra and De Villiers dams are closer to the Constantia Nek side of the mountain and can supply water to parts of the southern suburbs, and Hout Bay, said Neilson.
“The mayor also mentioned the construction would solve Cape Town’s water problem for years to come.” An aerial cable was erected to assist its construction.

Totladoh reservoir, which is a major source of water supply to the city, is only 11% full even after two months of rainy season.
Last year the dam was 70% full in July end.
A Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) official said that the storage capacity of Totladoh was 1,017 million cubic metres (mm3).
"On the morning of July 31, the dam had only 113 mm3 water, which is worrying.
The rainfall in the district has also been far lower than the average," he added.
The average storage of last five years is 561 mm3.
In 2013, the dam had 934 mm3.
The average of last five years is 1,658 mm3.
The storage in 40 medium-sized reservoirs in the division is also a cause for worry.
The average figure for July end is just 21%.

DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Is ‘green spot’ a sign of more trouble for Oroville Dam?
In California water news this weekend, Is ‘green spot’ a sign of more trouble for Oroville Dam?
; Retrofit planned for San Luis Dam; Officials: Bill would end Trinity River fish disease preventative flows, Humboldt County’s water right; A new gold rush is on, sparked by California’s post-drought snowmelt; Mapping coastal flood risk lags behind sea level rise; The US Interior Department has a new mission: To make money; and more … In the news this weekend … Is ‘green spot’ a sign of more trouble for Oroville Dam?
Retrofit planned for San Luis Dam: “A long-term retrofit project to raise and strengthen B.F. Sisk Dam, commonly referred to as the San Luis Dam, is moving through the planning process and could break ground in three years.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency maps where people are at moderate or high risk of flooding.
… ” Read more from the CA State Treasurer’s Office here: The real costs of the California Water Fix The new general in the state’s water wars: “There’s an old saying in the West that whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.
… ” Read more from the Lodi News-Sentinel here: Lodi: Water meters to be installed by November New drinking water regulation costly for Turlock: “A new drinking water regulation from the State Water Resources Control Board will mean millions of dollars in new equipment and maintenance for Turlock’s well system.
… ” Read more from the Bakersfield Californian here: Bakersfield: Watermaster and the city agree: Water in the Kern River into 2018 Santa Clarita: Agency finds itself awash in wet water year: “Emerging from a wet winter, state water officials were able to set aside 50,000 acre-feet of water for the Santa Clarita Valley’s water wholesaler, the Castaic Lake Water Agency.
How much water is that?
… ” Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle here: Las Vegas water pipeline fight to go before a federal judge Click here to read more editions of the Daily Digest.

There is lack of clear understanding, appreciation and agreement on the design and administrative aspects of the Kalabagh Dam because there is a trust deficit among the provinces on the construction of the Dam.
Dams are built to meet storage and power generation needs for economic development of the country.
The decisions are based on complex technical and economic considerations and not the support of individuals.
All four provinces must reach a common understanding on its technical aspects, after which political consensus can follow.
Do you agree with the view that instead of building big dams, we should go for small dams?
The Indus River, being a lifeline of Pakistan, currently has Tarbela Dam which was built under the 1960 Indus Basin Treaty while its existing live storage has been reduced to 6.849 MAF due to sedimentation.
This will increase the life span of Tarbela by stopping the sediment coming down to Tarbela and, on the other hand, structures will be built to generate the much-needed cheaper hydel clean energy.
It is said that the rivers in Sindh will go dry if the Kalabagh Dam is built.
Pakistan has not built a large dam for many years.
Pakistan needs dams for not only water storage but for power generation too.