Murray MP Helen Dalton revealed she owns $17 million worth of water entitlements in the Murrumbidgee Valley.
The weather bureau has hinted at a shift back towards normal rain by summer's end.
Almost all of the Australian mainland is likely to have a warmer and drier than normal final two months of the year,boosting the odds that 2019 will be the country's hottest on record.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says he has asked for legal advice on whether the government can walk away from the plan.
More than a dozen large NSW towns have a"high risk"of running out of water and the quality of supplies in some areas in deteriorating as the state's big dry intensifies.
The Morrison government has directed its new"water cop"to investigate the Murray-Darling Basin Authority just days after it released a draft report suggesting irrigators may have illegally filled their dams.
Last summer's rescue effort to truck 20 giant Murray cod 700 kilometres to a fisheries centre will soon face its first test as females start to lay eggs.
NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall says stranded fish will be rescued from Menindee in a special two-week operation.
The Macquarie River,one of the longest rivers in NSW,will cease to flow later this year after the Berejiklian government intervened to ensure dwindling flows are diverted to drought-hit towns such as Cobar and Nyngan.
The justification for the $500 million Broken Hill water pipeline prioritised irrigators and all but ignored the environment,the project's business case says.
Fish kills in the Murray-Darling Basin this year could dwarf those of last summer unless major rains arrive,with agencies preparing emergency response teams to minimise damage to dwindling native species.