By Ben GloverREPRESENTATIVES from Griffith, Leeton and Coleambally were yesterday defiant in the face of bad news after the release of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) guide.The worst fears of the food bowl centres were realised when the guide recommended a reduction in water allocations in the Murrumbidgee catchment of up to 45 per cent.Those in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) will be among the worst affected in the country in an effort to cut water allocations across the basin by between 27 and 37 per cent.Leeton mayor Paul Maytom was scathing in his assessment of the guide. "We'll be going to war," he said. "There's no way in the world we can handle that."Even if we got our full allocation of water for the next few years, a cut of that amount would be unsustainable for our community."Murrumbidgee Shire Council general manager Paul Goodsall was equally fearful for the futures of Coleambally and Darlington Point but said those communities wouldn't lie down."We'll be joining forces with local farmers groups and RAMROC (Riverina and Murray Organisation of Councils) to do whatever we can possibly do."If they go ahead with these cuts workers won't have work and won't be able to sell their houses."I'm really concerned about our people ... I just can't believe the government would do this to people in the country."Griffith mayor Mike Neville was more circumspect, saying he would use the weekend to digest the recommendations in the guide before making any comment.All three, however, demonstrated a steely determination to gather the troops in the next week to take "whatever action that was necessary" to alter the MDBA's recommendations before the basin plan is finalised early next year.