But there is still one black cloud hanging over our heads as the community awaits the release of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Late last week the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) finally announced it would release the Guide to the Proposed Basin Plan on October 8.

This comes just days after the season’s first general security allocation announcement of 9 per cent.

The announcement brought some disappointment, as many irrigators expected considerably more.

However, many local irrigators are in a favourable position compared to previous years as they also have access to 10 per cent distribution allowance offered by CICL along with access to supplementary water

Some even have the option of using carryover water.

This has brought some irrigator allocations to well above 40 per cent.

The increase in available allocation, together with the good recent rainfall, both here and in the dam catchment, has brought an air of optimism to Coleambally.

There is, however, the dark spot on the horizon and that is the release of the Basin Plan.

At Monday night’s meeting of the Coleambally Chamber of Commerce it was decided that local businesses would work with CICL to take a united stand against any proposed cutbacks that the plan may have instore.

CICL cheif excecutive John Culleton told The Observer it was important that once the plan comes out the whole community take an informed and united stand.

“At the moment we are fighting blind until the plan and the figures within it are released,” he said.

“It is important in the lead up to the release that the whole community is well informed and that once it is released we move forward with an informed and clear consistent message.

“Every Australian will be affected by this and it is important that we as a community send a clear message to all Australians so that they will come on board and realise that it will affect everyone, not just those of us

living and working within the Basin.”