Murrumbidgee Irrigation, Coleambally Irrigation Co-Operative and Murray Irrigation made their call after landholder negotiations on the Menindee Lakes project were halted.

The three companies say there is a risk that all Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM) projects may not be able to be complete by the 2024 deadline.

The SDLAM projects are designed to recover a 605 gigalitres of water, with Menindee Lakes set to deliver 105 gigalitres of that target.

The projects generally aim to create and save efficiencies in water infrastructure, rather than drawing further water from consumptive use.

The Murray Darling Basin Authority will conduct a reconciliation in 2024 any shortfall of water recovered may see the water recovered from use by irrigators in the Murrumbidgee and Murray areas.

"Should the current approved SDLAM projects not proceed, or alternatives be agreed and implemented, communities and irrigators remain at risk of further water recovery by the Commonwealth," Murrumbidgee Irrigation CEO Brett Jones said.

"Clearly, this water is most likely to come from the irrigators in our districts, which is completely unacceptable to our customers and our communities who are reliant on irrigation."

The irrigation infrastructure businesses are calling on the government to outline a path to protecting communities reliant on irrigated agriculture and work to prevent a further reduction of water available for productive use.

"The impact of a further reduction in irrigation water in the Murrumbidgee and NSW Murray valleys would decimate communities and economies reliant upon irrigated agriculture," Coleambally Irrigation Co-operative CEO Clifford Ashby said.

It would also have a wider impact since the Basin supports 9,200 irrigated agriculture businesses producing $22 billion worth of food and fibre annually."

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In a statement the three companies urged irrigators and "all those with an interest in healthy communities in our valleys" to engage with the NSW Government to help implement the SDLAM projects.

"We understand that some local communities have reservations with the current projects and it is the role of government to address these concerns or find viable alternatives," the statement read.

"Our organisations are committed to continuing to work with government to find and implement solutions that can be broadly accepted.

"If we do nothing, our irrigators, regional economies, towns and communities will be left to carry the burden in 2024 when the MBDA reconciles progress. And we can't afford that."

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