NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says he would be prepared to "rip up" the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and has asked for legal advice on whether the state government can "walk away" from it.

In his strongest comments yet, Mr Barilaro said the state should be "pausing all water sharing plans" while the drought continued, saying "we need to put people before the environment".

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has said the Murray-Darling Basin Plan should be ripped up if the situation doesn't improve for regional NSW. Credit:Joel Carrett

"If we can't see a change in how the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is working for the people of NSW, forget pausing the plan, rip the bloody thing up and we will walk away," Mr Barilaro said.

"The reality here is water is running out in real terms."