 MDBA Basin News e-Letter, Issue 7, August - September 2010
Basin News – The Murray-Darling Basin Authority eLetter 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 medialiason@mdba.gov.au An online html version is available at: www.mdba.gov.au/media_centre/mdba_eletter Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MD_Basin_Auth IN THIS ISSUE: Murray sees more inflow in one week than all of 2006-07 The latest Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Weekly Report of river operations says inflows to Hume Reservoir during the same week peaked at about 90,000 ML/day and Dartmouth Reservoir at about 45,000 ML/day. However, peak flows will take several weeks to travel downstream and will attenuate as they pass through the very large floodplain forests. The Authority’s active (useable water) storage, including Menindee Lakes, was 5,042 GL - the highest since January 2006. And it will continue to grow over the next few weeks. Despite the uncertainty of flow forecasts in the lower Murray, it is clear the Lower Lakes will fill allowing the first significant releases through the Murray Mouth since 2006. During the second week of September, storage in Lake Victoria rose by 54 GL to 488 GL (72% capacity) and with flow in transit is expected to continue increasing during the next few weeks with the high inflows. The water level in Lake Alexandrina was +0.39 m AHD and was expected to continue rising and to reach full supply level in early October. Water was being released to the Coorong through the Goolwa Barrage thanks to high inflows from Finniss River and Currency Creek. This will start to improve environmental conditions in the Coorong. For more information and to read the latest Weekly report of river operations go to www.mdba.gov.au/water/river_info Flood operations training exercise well timed The desktop exercise was carried out on computers in the Authority’s operations room and at the Hume Dam office. Chief Executive Rob Freeman said the exercise was fortuitously timed as the same staff had to cope with the sudden flooding rains within less than a fortnight leading to flood operation at Yarrawonga Weir. “The exercise is a regular event and an integral part of the Authority’s Emergency Action Plan which ensures that proper measures are in place at times of real emergency,” Mr Freeman said. “As we have just seen, floods can develop very quickly so we must be alert and well prepared. “Flooding can sometimes be as threatening as drought. It can threaten human lives, property, stock and rural and urban communities living and working along the river and flood plains. “However, flooding is a natural process and is critical to the health of the river system. Some parts of the system haven’t had a decent flood for 15 years. “The training exercise reinforced procedures and enhanced the training of those staff members likely to be involved in a major flood.” During the training, expert and support Authority staff used specialised software for forecasting Hume inflows and analysing storage levels and determining release rates. A major aim of the flood simulation was to ensure the safety of the dam and downstream communities by anticipating the likely volume of floodwater flowing into the dam and releasing a commensurate amount to make space for it. The simulation also considered how the volume of water released from the dam could be set to gain environmental benefits downstream if circumstances permitted. The exercise included the final aim of ensuring that the dam was filled at the end of the flood in order to maximise water availability for the three States for future use. For more information on the Authority’ river operations go to www.mdba.gov.au/water/river_info Why the Basin Plan is still needed Murray-Darling Basin Authority Chief Executive Rob Freeman recently said that while more water in the system was a good thing, long term changes still needed to be made. "The welcome rain actually creates a much more stable foundation on which to produce the new Basin Plan. We have had an incredible sequence of dry years and people were hurting. "I think now we have a better environment to make sensible decisions about the new proposal,” he said. In less than a century, water extracted from the Murray-Darling Basin has increased five-fold, from 2,000 GL a year in the 1920s to over 10,000 GL a year. A century of regulating the rivers has also had an impact by generally confining river flow to within the banks and reducing the frequency of flooding. The temporal pattern of flows has been altered with flows now received in summer each year, compared to pre-regulation flow patterns. The first environmental report card on the ecological health of the Murray–Darling Basin, the Sustainable Rivers Audit (2004-2007) which covered 96,000 km of rivers and streams, found long-term degradation in most of the Basin’s valleys and that 20 of the Basin’s 23 river valleys were in poor or very poor health. Salinity levels have increased and algal blooms have risen in frequency in line with the increased frequency of periods of low river flow. The first Basin Plan will be completed in 2011 and approved by the Minister for Climate Change and Water, after which it will be regularly reviewed and updated. For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au/basin_plan Guide to Proposed Basin Plan to be released on 8 October The Guide is the first part of a three-stage process consisting of the Guide, the Proposed Basin Plan and the Basin Plan. The Authority understands the keen desire of communities, environmental groups and irrigators to see the proposals as soon as possible but believes it is important that the proposals be based on the most comprehensive knowledge possible. The Authority has been undertaking further work to improve some of the social and economic elements of the Guide’s contents. The Authority will continue to carry out such work until the Proposed Basin Plan is released. The Guide will give stakeholders an overview of the Proposed Basin Plan ahead of its release and an additional opportunity for feedback before the formal consultation and submission process begins. The guide will feature key content of the Proposed Basin Plan including:
Release of the Guide will help to ensure stakeholders are fully informed before lodging their submissions as part of the formal consultation phase later this year. The Authority will conduct a series of regional public information sessions across the Basin, where local communities will be able to discuss the guide with senior Authority staff. Locations of the meetings are available online at www.mdba.gov.au/communities/latest-news/guide-to-proposed-basin-plan-announced Further details will posted soon. For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/engagement Some Basin Plan questions In the meantime, the Authority has received many requests for information and explanations of how the Plan will eventually work. While the Authority website has a comprehensive collection of background information (for example, see www.mdba.gov.au/basin_plan/faqs), we thought it might be helpful to set out a small number of the most frequently asked questions and replies. What will the Basin Plan do and what will it cover? A Water Quality and Salinity Management Plan will identify risks such as salinity, acid sulphate soils and other water quality issues and set objectives and targets to manage the water quality in the Basin. Another key element within the Basin Plan will be the Environmental Watering Plan which will coordinate the management of environmental water across the Basin. This will identify key environmental features and ecosystems that must be protected. The plan will stipulate water trading rules to ensure a Basin-wide approach to the trading of water rights. It will also identify the amount of water (known as conveyance water) that is required to carry a water supply to those communities who depend on the Murray River system. There will be a program in place to monitor and evaluate the ongoing effectiveness of the plan. How will the Plan affect individual water licence holders? States will also be responsible for developing and implementing water resource plans that are consistent with the Basin Plan. Existing water resource plans will remain in place until their original expiry dates, which in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia is generally in 2014 and Victoria in 2019. New plans will then be written by the states, ensuring they are consistent with the Basin Plan requirements, including new sustainable diversion limits. State governments will have an on-going responsibility for providing the communities who depend on the Murray–Darling River system with enough water to meet critical human water needs. Catchment management authorities, natural resource management boards and related institutions, industry associations, enterprises, non-government organisations, Indigenous communities, householders and individuals will also have an important part to play. How will the Authority evaluate Basin water resources?
How often will the Basin Plan be reviewed? Where can I get more information? Basin Community Committee updated on Basin plan The committee advises the Murray-Darling Basin Authority about the performance of its functions, including in relation to:
The meeting provided members with further information on the proposed Basin Plan and the engagement activities that will support the release of the Guide. They received a briefing on River Murray operations which clarified for members how environmental water would be delivered under the Environmental Watering Plan. Members also received a detailed presentation from Judith Stubbs & Associates on a study commissioned by the Cotton Catchment Communities Co-Operative Research Centre (CRC) titled: “Exploring the Relationship between Community Resilience & Irrigated Agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin. The BCC have been asked to work with the Basin Plan section in providing community advice as to how the MDBA might integrate jurisdiction water management authorities, regional natural resource management bodies and community groups in the implementation of the Basin Plan. The BCC is expected to provide their advice to staff out of session. Members will also be working closely with the Stakeholder Engagement section to provide feedback on the key local issues affecting different communities of the Basin in preparation for the stakeholder engagement meetings after the release of the Guide to the proposed Basin Plan. A meeting summary is now available www.mdba.gov.au/communities/basin_community_committee For more information email bcc@mdba.gov.au or visit the MDBA website. Great Darling Anabranch to reach Murray The environmental water will be delivered through an initiative coordinated under The Living Murray program. Murray–Darling Basin Authority Chief Executive Rob Freeman said this watering would build on the environmental benefits gained from a small flow that reached the anabranch as a result of floods in the north of the Basin earlier this year. “While the Murray system has received recent heavy rains in some parts of Victoria, the Darling Anabranch has not flowed to the Murray River since 2001-02,” Mr Freeman said. The watering and its environmental benefits have been championed by the Murray–Darling Wetlands Group, a community-based organisation and is supported by the Darling River Action Group. This new allocation of environmental will result in benefits along the 460 km-long anabranch, including improved habitat for breeding of fish, birds and frogs and the regeneration of vegetation. “It’s another example of the success of cooperative waterings by multiple environmental water holders to achieve environmental benefits at a Basin-wide scale.” As the water reaches the Murray system, other Living Murray priority sites such as Coombol Swamp and Lake Limbra on the Chowilla Floodplain will benefit from the watering. Environmental water for this event will be provided by The Living Murray, the New South Wales government and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. The Living Murray is a joint program funded by the New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian, Australian Capital Territory and the Commonwealth governments, coordinated by the Murray Darling Basin Authority. For more information on The Living Murray program go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/tlm MDBA Native Fish Forum 2010 More than 120 delegates have confirmed their attendance. Building on successful fish management forums over the past four years, 2010 will see the MDBA continuing its commitment to communicating the latest results and on-ground outcomes to a broad audience across the Basin, from general public to scientists and managers. The objectives of the forum are to provide:
The Forum will be held on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, minutes from Canberra city centre, at the National Museum of Australia: Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula, Canberra. For more information on the MDBA’s native Fish Strategy go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/nativefishstrategy Kids Teaching Kids Conference for Albury-Wodonga The Murray-darling Basin Authority is a major sponsor of the event. Kids Teaching Kids co-founder Richard Wood said this was the first time in the conference’s ten-year history to be held in the border area. He said students selected an environmental topic and worked with teachers and mentors throughout the year to make a presentation to the rest of the conference in an interactive and informative way. "For the uninitiated, Kids Teaching Kids probably suggests uncontrolled anarchy," he said. "To be able to understand a subject well enough to relay it to your peers in a workshop situation is the highest form of learning." Mr Wood said that in addition to mounting presentations, students "get their hands dirty" during a day at the Wonga Wetlands. Other Border environmental organisations, including Landcare groups, were also involved. More information is available at www.kidsteachingkids.com.au Artists and rural communities engage on environment The Engaging Visions project is an initiative of ANU and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Since 2007, project leaders and a range of artists have engaged with communities in St George (Queensland), Tumut (NSW), Renmark (South Australia) and Benalla (Victoria). Mr John Reid, co-Chief Investigator of the project said people from those towns opened their doors, farm gates and minds, giving artists and researchers insights into how they are balancing environmentally sustainable water practices and broader environmental needs. The artists translated these insights into art works in photography, painting and sculpture. Murray-Darling Basin Authority Chief Executive Mr Rob Freeman said the project had its origins in the former Murray-Darling Basin Commission and has continued under the new Authority. It builds on the Field Studies program at ANU, a long-standing partnership with the former Commission. The Engaging Visions project was funded by an ARC Linkage Grant and includes researchers from the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science and the School of Art at ANU. For more information go to http://engagingvisions.com.au/ New Joint Indigenous Group for Koondrook-Perricoota project The project is one of a number of environmental works and measures projects being built by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Living Murray program at a number of its icon sites. The local indigenous communities have a strong spiritual and cultural connection to the forest and an important role to play in natural resource management. The group will ensure the aspirations, interests and contributions of local indigenous people are recognised and considered in the development of the Koondrook-Perricoota Flood Enhancement Project. The group consists of two representatives from each of the Barapa Barapa and Yorta Yorta Nations together with the Moama and Deniliquin Local Aboriginal Land Councils. Regular meetings are facilitated by Forests NSW and supported by The Living Murray program. The group’s contributions to the project have already proved significant and a strong partnership has developed between all parties. The construction of the levee, cutting and associated regulators as part of the project requires the disturbance of areas with the Koondrook-Perricoota Forests. These areas will be surveyed by local indigenous cultural site monitors for cultural heritage sites and artefacts before construction. During all construction work that involves the disturbance of soil, Indigenous cultural site monitors will also be present. This cultural site monitoring process will be overseen by Indigenous coordinators and advisers and is support by the JIG. For more information on The Living Murray and its works and measures program go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/tlm end |
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