As water supplies run low for towns reliant on the Darling River in western NSW, the Government says it has drought-proofed Broken Hill with a 270-kilometre pipeline from the Murray River.

Bourke, outback NSW, has not seen meaningful rain in seven years and while its 2,500 residents prepare for unprecedented water restrictions, their dire plight has helped propel environmental concerns into NSW's political spotlight.

Professor John Williams says the government has not based their irrigation efficiency policies on the best science available.

There is a part of Australia where the rivers are high but the crops are dying, where farmers can see plenty of water but have no access to it. And that could mean a change in political fortunes.

Locals at Menindee, in far west NSW, hail funding to seal a key regional road as a project that could "save" the drought-stricken town.

Irrigator Anthony Barlow is fined well below the maximum for pumping water from the Barwon River during an extreme water shortage in Broken Hill.

Buying water entitlement from irrigators, installing cameras on the river, and a subsidy to install water meters are at the centre of a $70 million Government spend to prevent fish kills.

NSW's water woes extend beyond the farm gate and its impact on the local environment water is intimately linked to the strength of regional economies. And many are struggling.

About 1,500 Adelaide residents and businesses are being told not to use groundwater because of contamination from uranium from a former mining laboratory and degreasing chemicals from nearby factories.

As landowners clean out enormous water tanks in the hope of rain, their fond childhood memories of swimming in tanks and troughs are in stark contrast to today's dry and parched landscape.

The Auditor General has found the Water Corporation is losing billions of litres of water more than it should each year, mainly due to leaking pipes. In his report, tabled in Parliament today, Colin Murphy says about 30 billion litres of water was lost each year, ten billion more than what is considered acceptable. The agency will also have to fork out tens of millions of dollars to replace ageing pipes in the network.

The Narrogin Town Council is calling on the Western Australian Government to support upgrades to a wastewater treatment system, which it says is costing nearly $100,000 annually to maintain.

Residents have been left without water for a day after a breakdown at a local treatment plant and as western NSW sweated through a heatwave.

Water is extensively treated before it's used for dialysis

The drought could have major implications for life-saving medical procedures, such as dialysis with patients needing up to 4,000 litres each week for treatment.

Desalination is not just for coastal cities treating seawater. Drought-hit inland towns could use it where emergency bore water supplies are too salty.

Water is fast running out across the Macquarie Valley, with one town preparing for the possibility of closing the hospital

MORNING BRIEFING: Western Sydney residents concerned about the new 24/7 airport will have years to wait before they know proposed flight paths, while the enduring drought pushes Dubbo to cut water use even more.

The New South Wales Government is funding an aerial survey for water in the state's central west.

Conservationists are hoping the coronavirus pandemic will force governments to take action against the wildlife trade. But will stricter legislation push wildlife traffickers deeper underground?

Wildlife parks have a long road back to financial buoyancy after coronavirus restrictions stripped them of their sole source of income; visitors, and some operators are dipping into personal savings just to keep their animals fed.

On the day Grafton's water fluoridation fight reached fever pitch, one man was stabbed with a tomato stake; another struck by a stock whip. At some point, a pistol was drawn. But how did it get to this point?

While hygiene and handwashing are on people's minds at present, there's hope that water conservation is right up there with it as parts of Australia come out of drought.

A water awareness video produced for children encourages them to turn off the tap when washing their hands.

CRIME NIGHT

As a river runs dry in the northern basin, the blame game continues, and farmer Andrew Watson says irrigators are being unjustly targeted over water use.

With towns across New South Wales at risk of running out of water within months, there are renewed calls for an urgent upgrade of water storage infrastructure.

Water stations reduce heat stress and other effects of drought and extreme weather events on koalas and other animals, new research finds.

After more than two years without any decent rain, a community in the far north of New South Wales is been given a reprieve.

A burst water main in the western Sydney suburb of Kingswood has spilled a million litres of water and inundated the streets.

With towns facing "zero day" water crises National Party MPs are frustrated not enough dams are being built, but states are spending billions to fix a system ill-prepared for crisis.

Almost bone-dry from drought and having endured four major bushfires this year, Tenterfield was due for a break. That came in spades when the town found a new water supply.

Residents in the regional city of Armidale are using their own water to save trees in their heritage-listed park, as the drought continues to deplete the district's water supply.

Whitehaven's Maules Creek coal mine is being investigated for allegedly unlawfully taking water, after farmers say their groundwater is drying up. The company has already been found to have allegedly unlawfully taken surface water by the NSW regulator.

With the olive harvest starting in some parts of South Australia, some farmers are now seeing fruit that has not developed or has shrivelled due to a lack of water.

An irrigation channel used to release water into a forest along the Murray River in NSW is filled with earth and rocks, with an irrigator saying it's a sign of frustration boiling over in the area.

Controversial environmental water flows are thought to be the driving force behind the revival of the native southern bell frog, despite the drought.

A group of southern New South Wales irrigators have pledged to give millions of litres of their own water to those who need it most, but they need help to deliver it.