 MDBA Basin News e-Letter, Issue 8, September 2009
Basin News – The Murray–Darling Basin Authority eLetter No. 8, September 2009 Welcome to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority monthly eLetter with reports of happenings across the Basin. Please feel free to pass this eLetter along to anybody who might be interested. If you do not wish to continue receiving this eLetter please reply to this message with “unsubscribe” in the subject heading. To subscribe online go to www.mdba.gov.au/media_centre/mdba_eLetter/subscribe Contributions are welcome. Please send items of up to 300 words to the editor at medialiaison@mdba.gov.au An online html version is available at: www.mdba.gov.au/media_centre/mdba_eletter
August Murray inflows highest since 2007 Murray System inflows during August were about 420 GL, the highest monthly inflow since July 2007 (450 GL). However, it is still well below the long term average for August of 1,550 GL. According to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s weekly report of River operations August rainfall was close to average across most of north-eastern Victoria and above average in the Snowy Mountains of NSW. Across most other regions in the Murray-Darling Basin, rainfall was ‘below average’ or ‘very much below average’. While July-August is the peak of the dry season in the northern Basin, this year has been very dry even by normal standards. Daily temperatures across the northern Basin have also been exceptionally high for this time of year, and August records were broken by 3°C or more in many parts of southern Queensland. Because of the increased streamflows in the upper reaches of the Mitta Mitta River, storage in Dartmouth Reservoir increased by 31 GL to 25per cent of capacity). Similarly, storage in Hume Reservoir responded to the higher inflows from both the upper Murray and also from the lower Mitta Mitta River (downstream of Dartmouth Reservoir). The last week of August saw good rainfall across north-east Victoria, particularly in the Victorian Alps and also in the Snowy Mountains of southern NSW. For more information read the latest weekly report at www.mdba.gov.au/ Riverland meeting emphasises community feedback Chair Mr Mike Taylor said this was the third board meeting held in a regional area since the Authority members first met in June. Previous meetings were held at Mildura/Wentworth at the confluence of the Murray and Darling Rivers and at Moree in northern New south Wales. Authority members reviewed progress on development of the Basin Plan and discussed key environmental assets and functions. How to engage and infrom stakeholders was a major agenda item. Before the meeting, they met with farming, industry and Indigenous community members, local government representatives, water managers and catchment management authorities. They also toured the Chowilla wetlands – one of the six environmentally significant Living Murray program ‘icon sites’ – where there has been some successful environmental watering. The establishment of the Authority means that, for the first time, a single agency is now responsible for planning integrated, sustainable management of the water resources of the entire Basin. The Authority’s centrepiece task is to develop a major Basin-wide plan to implement this. A draft plan will be issued for public comment and consultation in mid 2010 and the final will go to the Commonwealth Minister in 2011. The next regional meeting will be held in Shepparton in Victoria. The members of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority are: Mike Taylor (Chair); Professor Barry Hart; Dr Diana Day; David Green; Dianne Davidson; and Rob Freeman (Chief Executive). For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au/ How the first Basin-wide water plan is shaping up The Authority’s central task is to develop a plan to sustainably manage water resources throughout the Basin. The plan will include sustainable diversion limits (based on the best available science), an environmental watering plan, a water quality and salinity management plan and water trade rules. MDBA Chief Executive Mr Rob Freeman will provide a general overview, with Authority board member Professor Barry Hart discussing the environmental planning aspects. Dr Bill Young, Director, Basin Plan Modelling, will explain how surface water modelling capabilities developed in the CSIRO Murray- Darling Basin Sustainable Yields Project will be used and improved to guide the development of the plan. Jody Swirepik, General Manager, River Environmental Management, will present a current environmental watering case study in the Murray focussing on recent developments in The Living Murray program. A draft of the plan will be released for discussion and consultation in 2010 with the final Plan draft going to the Commonwealth Government in 2011. For more information go to www.riversymposium.com/index.php?element=MDBA_Feature New scheme will cut Murray salinity and boost wetland health The salt interception scheme, to be built at Murtho near Renmark, will stop an estimated 99.4 tonnes of salt a day (or 36,000 tonnes a year) from entering the river and will boost the ecological health of the nearby Riverland Ramsar wetland site. The project is jointly funded by the Australian Government, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia through the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Salt interception works are large-scale groundwater pumping and drainage projects that intercept saline groundwater flows and dispose of them, generally by evaporation. "When completed, the Murtho scheme will join a number of others which cumulatively keep about 300,000 tonnes of salt out of the Murray each year," Senator Wong said. Senator Wong and Minister Maywald launched construction during a tour by Senator Wong of the southern end of the Murray-Darling Basin accompanied by Federal Parliamentary Secretary Dr Mike Kelly. The concept design for the Murtho scheme includes 52 production wells equipped with submersible pumps and about 54 km of pipeline. Dr Kelly said the intercepted groundwater would be piped from the borefield to the Noora Disposal Basin. "The Murtho scheme, which is expected to be up and running in less than three years, is a key project in achieving the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council's aim to control salinity in the River Murray," Dr Kelly said. "This measure will help improve river health, in line with the Rudd Government's priorities under the 10-year, $12.9 billion Water for the Future plan. For more information go to www.environment.gov.au/minister/wong/2009/mr20090903.html Has water abstraction reached it useful limits? These are some of the major questions to be tackled at the 7th International Water Association World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse (REUSE09) in Brisbane 20-25 September. Organisers say the traditional “linear society” is not a sustainable solution and the “circular society” has to become the new standard. The REUSE09 program will also discuss: public health and environmental impacts, emerging pollutants, community engagement, closing the water and nutrient loops, energy efficiencies, potable and indirect potable reuse. The conference program will have a strong focus on the interaction between practice and research and organiser say it will provide good opportunities to share and exchange knowledge and expertise. The conference will also feature a trade exhibition, workshops and five technical tours. For more information and to register go to www.reuse09.org Saving native fish from irrigation pump systems The Authority has commissioned the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (now Industry & Investment NSW) to scope, install and assess innovative ways of retrofitting economical screens to selected pumping systems. The project follows an Authority funded study on the effects of irrigation practices on fish in the Murrumbidgee and Namoi Rivers and the Mulwala Canal system. This study was the first to measure the extent of entrapment and stranding of native fish in irrigation offtakes. It found that up to 200 fish a day were extracted though the pumps. The project is part of the Authority’s Native Fish Strategy which aims to rehabilitate native fish populations in the Basin back to 60 per cent of their estimated pre-European-settlement levels, after 50 years of implementation. The program has been in place since 2004 when experts estimated that levels were about 10per cent of those pre-European-settlement. For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/nativefishstrategy ‘Sold out’ MDBA Native Fish Forum showcases top science The forum showcases the progress made by a range of native fish rehabilitation projects and this year participants heard about award-winning scientific developments such as:
The Forum also highlighted a range of practical, on-ground activities such as:
For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/nativefishstrategy
Drought still hammering Basin waterbirds A new MDBA report has found that numbers of waterbirds at four of the six Living Murray icon sites were lower in 2008 compared with 2007. The annual survey of waterbird communities of The Living Murray icon sites found reduced numbers at Barmah-Millewa, Hattah, River Murray, Lower Lakes and Coorong). Numbers of species were also lower in 2008 compared with 2007. The total numbers of waterbirds surveyed in 2008, represented a 48per cent decrease on the numbers of waterbirds surveyed at the same time in 2007. The lower numbers could be due to availability of more habitat elsewhere (for example, the Paroo River system) but could also reflect the increasing degradation of the Lower Lakes, with concentrations only found on the Paroo overflow lakes. Wetland habitat in the Barmah-Millewa Forest icon site was restricted to the main river channels and Moira Lake, and waterbird abundance was low. Most shallow floodplain wetland habitat in Gunbower-Koondrook-Perricoota Forest system was dry and few waterbirds were present. Wetland habitat in the Chowilla floodplain & Lindsay-Wallpolla Islands icon site was mostly restricted to the main channels although a small number of deeper billabongs still held water. Numbers of waterbirds on lagoons were similar between 2007 and 2008 surveys. Waterbird abundance and breeding were concentrated in the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon site which supported a mean total of 134,635 waterbirds. Within the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon site, most waterbirds were distributed in the Coorong and Murray Mouth. Breeding declined across all icon sites in 2008 with only two species recorded breeding, white ibis and black swan. A copy of the report is available at www.mdba.gov.au/system/files/Aerial-Survey-of-Icon-sites-final-rpt-July09.pdf Have your say on future Macquarie Marshes planning The recommendations were released for public comment in August. NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Carmel Tebbutt, said scientific research, combined with historical information and on the ground expertise, has been examined to determine the current state of the Marshes and its predicted future in the Draft Macquarie Marshes Adaptive Environmental Management Plan. Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the data and information made available in the development of the Plan had prompted the Australian Government to notify the Ramsar Secretariat of a likely adverse change in the ecological character of the Macquarie Marshes Ramsar Site as required under Article 3.2 of the Ramsar Convention. He said the Australian and New South Wales governments were purchasing water in the Macquarie catchment to benefit the Marshes. The final version of the Plan due to be released by the end of 2009. Copies of the Draft Plan are available by phoning 131 555, emailing info@environment.nsw.gov.au, or visiting the website at www.wetlandrecovery.nsw.gov.au River frontage and floodplain rehabilitation grants on offer The grants are part of the Frontage Management Grants Program (FMGP) component of the Murray River Frontage Action Plan. Grants are available for works and activities aimed at improving river health, including fencing, erosion control, pest plant control, revegetation, track rationalisation, litter removal, disused pump site rehabilitation, recreation management and cultural heritage protection works. To apply, or for more information, contact Ray de Groot at the Mallee Catchment Management Authority on 50514350; via mobile 0428313177; or by email at ray.degroot@dpi.vic.gov.au End |
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