This time a couple of years ago we were still in devastating drought. Summer fish kills had generated appalling images of dead fish on algae-ridden water as far as the eye could see.

In response, I began crocheting a giant Murray cod out of the blue baling twine that was being cut from the bales used to hand-feed starving stock.

I crocheted a couple of pink human hands holding the cod, partly to represent care and partly to represent our role in driving this magnificent fish almost to extinction.

OTHER RECENT ECO NEWS COLUMNS:

This year, the Waste to Art theme is steel and aluminium cans. I'm hoping an idea will hit me, but in the meantime, I'm still thinking about the fate of Murray cod in our river system.

They still need a helping hand.

A proposed dam on the Macquarie Wambool River at Gin Gin near Trangie would be just upstream from a Murray cod breeding site, and would destroy 32 kilometres of river habitat.

According to Healthy Rivers Dubbo, the dam will allow more upstream extraction from the river, and critical flows into the Macquarie Marshes and the Barwon and Darling Baaka rivers will be reduced.

Water supply to the towns of Warren, Brewarrina and Bourke could be affected.

While the development is being framed as a simple upgrade to the century-old Gin Gin weir, the new radial gates will be 10m high.

At full capacity, the weir will create a destructive channel dam over 30km long.

Who wins, who loses? Irrigators in the first camp. Murray cod in the second.

"Downstream communities rely on small and medium flows coming down the river, keeping water supplies fresh, and aquifers topped up," says Healthy Rivers Dubbo.

"The vital connection between the Macquarie and the Barwon Darling rivers will be further compromised should this disastrous project go ahead."

The group is urging the NSW Government, and in particular Environment Minister Matthew Kean and Planning Minister Rob Stokes, to replace the Gin Gin Weir at the same height it is now.

More information is available at healthyriversdubbo.com.