the darling also feeds the menindee lakes.'s most important agricultural region relies on these rivers and lakes but after the hottest summer on record, most of the darling river has run dry. and the lakes are virtually empty. for millennia the menindee lake system has been a flourishing ecosystem on the driest continent on earth and a vital lifeline for the outback. but that has all changed. just a few years ago, these lakes were almost 90% full, but after a decision by the new south wales state government to decommission the lakes for water storage, they were drained dry and this is the result. as australia's drought has worsened and with nothing in reserve, the darling river is now reduced to a few stretches of stagnating water. in december and january, at the peak of summer, a series of massive so—called fish kills, where more than a million fish died, left the country reeling. this is nothing to do with drought. this is a man—made disaster brought to you by the new south wales government, the federal government and the mu