One unit was already running and the second was set to be put into action on Monday, a NSW Department of Primary Industries spokeswoman said.

”The aerators have been placed in the deeper water near the dam wall to provide localised relief in this refuge area,” she said.

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“The first unit deployed has ‘kicked in’ and is operating as of [Friday] afternoon.”

The solar-powered units are an attempt to prevent a mass fish kill like those seen elsewhere in the state – including below the dam wall in the week before Christmas.

NSW DPI and WaterNSW are involved in the project, which NSW regional water minister Niall Blair announced on Tuesday.

It was “not a silver-bullet solution” but would “provide localised areas where fish can get more oxygen [for] a better chance of surviving”.