Farmers welcome rain in NSW

The deluge that struck Sydney and blanketed vast regions of NSW has been more a help
than a hindrance, authorities and property owners say.
Moderate river flooding has isolated rural properties in the state's central west
and northeast but farmers have welcomed the weather that brought up to 200mm of rain
to some areas in less than two days.
The State Emergency Service (SES) was focused on the Castlereagh River at Coonamble,
in the NSW central west, with moderate flood levels expected to peak on Monday
evening.
"The township of Coonamble will be fine but it will isolate more rural communities
in that area," SES spokesman Terry Pappas told AAP.
"The damage that has occurred is probably through the roads - it's fairly moderate
actually."
Margie and Bill Pye, who own 16,000ha east of Coonamble, said previous storms had
flooded their property but the 200mm of rain they received was well dispersed over
the previous week.
"It's been good soaking rain, more so than what it was back then," Ms Pye told AAP.
Doug Batten, mayor of Gilgandra, south of Coonamble, said the rain was great news
for farmers.
"Two hundred millimetres since Christmas Day," he told Fairfax Radio Network on Monday.
"This year we had the offer of a good harvest, but we just missed out on some vital
rain in August. This sort of rain and this sort of ground moisture will give us a
good start moving into 2010."
The Tweed area, on the state's far north coast, experienced minor flash flooding at
Murwillumbah where 145mm of rain fell on Sunday night and Monday morning.
Further south, in the Port Macquarie area, similar rainfalls brought minor flooding
to the Hastings River after more than 80mm of rain fell in just three hours on
Monday afternoon.
Emergency workers were most concerned about holidaymakers who are not used to flood
conditions and might risk recreational activities on affected rivers.
"When the tides pick up a little bit, know that it is possible floodwater," Mr
Pappas said.
The SES had received more than 180 calls for assistance since Monday morning in the
central west, mid-north and far-north coastal areas.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) also issued flood warnings on Monday for the Culgoa,
Bokhara and Paroo rivers in the northwest, but the rivers peaked at moderate levels
on Monday.
Major flooding is expected at Kenebree, 40km northwest of Brewarrina, where the
Culgoa River was expected to peak on Wednesday.
The SES said the situation would have been worse if the affected areas were not
already in drought conditions.
"If it was any other normal part of the state, this amount of water would have
definitely caused major flooding," Mr Pappas said.
"So it was a bit of a saving grace that it was sort of drought-stricken, because the
ground absorbed 75 per cent of that water."
Sydney was battered with more than 40mm of rain on Monday morning, which caused road
closures due to flooding.
The SES has seven helicopters available for rescue, resupply and reconnaissance, at
Dubbo, Narrabri and Cobar.
The Bureau of Meteorology says a low pressure trough extends from inland Queensland
to the NSW south coast.
A low has developed over northwestern NSW within this trough and is drawing on warm
humid air, generating rain across many districts.
The low is expected to weaken later in the week, but the trough is expected to
remain, bringing further rain and unsettled conditions to most of northern NSW.