MDBA Basin News e-Letter, Issue 11, December 2009

Basin News – The Murray-Darling Basin Authority eLetter

Issue 11, December 2009

Welcome to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority monthly eLetter with reports of happenings across the Basin.

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In this issue:

Have a say on new Basin water extraction limits
Joint meeting clarifies issues confronting Basin
More opportunities to provide input into the proposed Basin Plan
Northern Basin Indigenous forum to gather Basin Plan input
Lock 3 to close for repairs, upgrade
More water recovered for The Living Murray
Rural scholarship on offer
Delivering practical environmental works
Major research project underway on wetlands

Have a say on new Basin water extraction limits
Have your say on the issues involved in setting new Basin-wide limits to the amount of water that can be taken from the Basin’s rivers, waterways and groundwater.

The Authority issued a public discussion paper detailing the issues in November and submissions need to reach the Authority by 18 December

Authority chair Mr Mike Taylor said the new limits will form an essential part of the Basin Plan the Authority is developing to put the management of water resources throughout the Basin on a sustainable footing.

The new limits are known as “sustainable diversion limits” or “SDLs” and will be set using the best available scientific knowledge and extensive consideration of social and economic impacts.

“The SDLs will also, for the first time, set limits on the use of groundwater, which has grown
significantly since the Cap was introduced in 1995.

“The discussion paper will be a major opportunity for interested individuals, communities and organisations to input and provide feedback on the preparation of the Basin Plan.

“The document is a technical issues paper and does not take any position on appropriate levels for SDLs,” Mr Taylor said. “Actual SDLs will be put forward when the proposed Basin Plan is released for a four month public comment period in mid 2010.

In line with the Water Act 2007, the SDLs will reflect an environmentally sustainable level of
water take that does not compromise key environmental assets, key ecosystem functions, key
environmental outcomes or the productive base of the water resource.

The paper explores some of the key issues the MDBA will need to consider in setting SDLs for the Basin Plan, including:

environmental considerations;
the interaction with state water management arrangements;
the types of take and interception activities that should be limited by the SDL;
optimisation of economic, social and environmental outcomes;
connectivity between surface water and groundwater; and
how SDLs will be set and expressed.

How to send us your feedback – Submissions need to reach the Authority by 18 December
2009. There is no specified format for a submission. They can range from a short letter on a
particular topic to a substantial document covering a range of issues.

Submissions can be in any form - email, fax, audio cassette or mail. Submissions will be posted on the MDBA website’s home page as soon as they can be processed.

For more information download the SDLs issue paper from www.mdba.gov.au or contact
engagement@mdba.gov.au for a printed copy.

Joint meeting clarifies issues confronting Basin
A joint meeting of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and its Basin Community Committee held at Albury on 1 December was provided with a clear set of issues confronting Basin communities in the development of the new Basin Plan.

Authority Chair Mr Mike Taylor said the meeting heard that some of the issues uppermost in the minds of communities across the Basin included:

social and economic impacts of the Plan;
how the Authority was assessing the best science;
how environmental assets would be managed;
the scale of sustainable diversion limits;
Indigenous rights to water; and
how the Basin Plan would intersect with state water resources plans,

“The meeting was an excellent opportunity for Authority members and community representatives to exchange views on the development of the new Basin Plan,” he said. “It was also extremely valuable to hear the wide ranging views from across the community at the public information and engagement session held this morning.

“We now have a comprehensive picture of the water and environmental issues that confront Basin communities and this will help us check that we have identified the highest priority issues and will enhance our decision-making process.”

The Authority’s centrepiece task is to develop a major Basin-wide plan to sustainably manage the water resources across the entire Basin. 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 Authority members are: Mike Taylor (Chair); Professor Barry Hart; Dr Diana Day; David Green; Dianne Davidson; and Rob Freeman (Chief Executive).

The 16-member Basin Community Committee - chaired by Joan Burns – advises the Authority on community issues in relation to the proposed Basin Plan and also provides a community perspective for the Authority and the Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council on a wide range of water resource, environmental, cultural and socioeconomic matters.

The committee members are: Danielle Anderson , Sarah Nicholas, Les Gordon, Jeff Parish , Cheryl Buchanan , Russell Pell, Joan Burns (Chair), Kathryn Ridge, Arlene Buchan , Matthew Rigney, Ian Falconer, Guy Roth, Mary-Lou Gittins, Dick Thompson, Henry Jones, and Rory Treweeke.

After their joint meeting the Basin Community Committee members inspected the Kiewa Valley, hosted by the North-East CMA and Murray CMA, to get an insight into local landscape, water management and community issues in the area.

For more information on the developing Basin Plan go to www.mdba.gov.au

More opportunities to provide input into the proposed Basin Plan
Over the past few months MDBA engagement staff have met with more than 35 peak bodies and many other key organisations in a major program of consultation and community feedback on the developing Basin Plan.

A proposed (draft) Plan will be issued for public comment in mid 2010. There will be continued opportunities for stakeholder input until April next year.

These include MDBA presentations and information stands in regional locations, forums, digital communication including on-line forums and publications such as fact sheets and technical and research reports.

If you would like to be advised of engagement opportunities and new publications as they are released please let us know at engagement@mdba.gov.au and we will add you to our engagement email distribution list.

On 8, 9 and 10 December MDBA staff will be presenting at the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts community information sessions at NSW regional centres at in Moree, Goondiwindi and St George.

For more information on future meetings or to provide feedback please go to www.mdba.gov.au/communities/meetings-events.

For more information visit www.mdba.gov.au

Northern Basin Indigenous forum to gather Basin Plan input
Representatives from 27 Indigenous nations in the Northern Murray-Darling Basin will take part in the Northern Basin Indigenous Gathering, to be held in Moree, on 9-10 December.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority organised the gathering in consultation with a large number of traditional owners and native title claimant groups.

The purpose of the gathering is to build stakeholder understanding of, and to seek input to key issues in the proposed Basin Plan.

The meeting provides an opportunity for traditional owners to discuss their water resource management issues and concerns and to consider culturally appropriate options for longer term engagement.

For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au, or call 1800 230 067 or email engagement@mdba.gov.au

Lock 3 to close for repairs, upgrade
River Murray users will not be able to pass through Lock 3 at Overland Corner in South Australia for about 12 weeks from January 11 while essential maintenance work is undertaken by SA Water on behalf of the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA).

The lock closure is part of a six-year maintenance program on all of the locks along the river.

This is the first time the Lock 3 chamber has been emptied since the late1960s when the wooden gates were replaced with steel. The empty lock chamber will allow SA Water to do a comprehensive inspection and maintenance of the underwater components.

Although users will not be able to travel the full length of the river during this period, they will still be able to enjoy using the river either upstream or downstream of Lock 3.

The grounds and facilities around the lock will also be closed to the general public and will reopen following completion of the maintenance works.

Works to be carried out on Lock 3 include:

building temporary dams on the upstream and downstream ends of the lock chamber;
emptying the lock chamber of water;
inspecting and repainting the lock chamber gates;
replacing the large valves which control the flow of water into and out of the lock chamber;
inspecting the chamber floor; and
any repairs on components which would normally be submerged.

Consultation with River Murray tourism operators has helped to develop the works program to minimise the interruption.

The community will be notified when the work is complete and the lock chamber is back in operation.

The lock and weirs have been operating for more than 80 years and this work will ensure that they continue to operate for a long time to come.

The next lock scheduled for maintenance is Lock 6 at Murtho, South Australia and it is anticipated work will begin in July 2010. The public will be notified prior to the closure of the lock.

For more information and for media inquiries contact Matthew Peake, Media Officer, SA Water, (08) 7424 1840, Mobile 0438 871 854

More water recovered for The Living Murray
A further 69.3GL of water has been recovered for use by The Living Murray and listed on the Environmental Water Register since 1 July 2009.

The latest listings were approved by Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council on 13 November, bringing the total volume of water on the Environmental Water Register to 411.8GL.

The overall target for water recovery through The Living Murray ‘First Step’ is an average of 500GL of water per year.

Recovered water is measured as a long-term average increase in flows in the Murray River, although the actual volume of water available against entitlements in a given year depends on allocations.

Ministerial Council noted at their meeting that the current suite of water recovery measures would deliver an estimated 485GL or 97% of the 500GL target over the coming months.

For more information and to read the latest Living Murray water recovery progress report, visit www.mdba.gov.au/programs/tlm/programs_to_deliver/water_recovery

Environmental water to protect iconic river red gums
An extra eight billion litres of water will be released to internationally significant wetlands along the Murray River to assist threatened river red gums and provide drought relief for wetland dependent species.

The water, released through the Living Murray program, will flow into Lindsay and Wallpolla Islands, Gunbower Forest and Barmah Forest prior to summer this year and during autumn 2010.

Managed by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, The Living Murray program is a joint initiative funded by the Victorian, New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian, Australian Capital Territory and Commonwealth Governments.

Australia’s most significant river restoration program, it aims to achieve a healthy working River Murray system for the benefit of all Australians.

The water being supplied under the Living Murray program will provide:

3 billion litres to Lindsay Island to water about 100 hectares of river red gums and provide wetland habitat;
3 billion litres to Wallpolla Island to maintain about 170 hectares of river red gums and provide wetland habitat and drought refuge;
2 billion litres to Reedy Lagoon in the Gunbower Forest which has been dry for two years and will bring drought refuge for many species including water birds, fish and frogs; and
250 million litres to Barmah Forest for drought refuge for animals and facilitate recovery.

The sites to receive environmental water were all icon sites under the Living Murray program and were chosen for their high ecological value.

For more information on The Living Murray program go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/tlm

Rural scholarship on offer
NSW’s Western Catchment Management Authority is offering a scholarship to a student who displays strong personal, community and educational commitment to rural or regional areas, with particular reference to the Western Catchment of NSW.

The Russel Harland Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually help a student advance educational qualifications and personal skills and to contribute to future natural resource management outcomes.

The scholarship holder is also expected to help build upon the expertise within the community of the NSW Western Catchment.

Scholarship recipients will be expected to complete at least four weeks paid work with the WCMA for each year of their scholarship.

Following the successful completion of their studies, scholarship recipients will be contracted to work with the WCMA for at least half the period of the scholarship.

Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents as defined by the Commonwealth and full-time, internal students entering their second year of an undergraduate course in an area of study relevant to the skills required within the WCMA.

Applications close 19 March 2010.

For more information email western@cma.nsw.gov.au or go to www.western.cma.nsw.gov.au/Pages/WCMAScholarship.html

Delivering practical environmental works
Since 2004, NSW’s catchment management authorities have delivered $2.11 billion of investment in practical environmental works.

According to a recent report this builds on the $659.8 million contributed by the Commonwealth and NSW Governments for on-ground projects.

According to the report “NSW Catchment Management Authorities: Celebrating Five Years of Achievements” the funds were delivered through partnerships with individual landholders, landcare and community groups, Aboriginal networks, industry groups, businesses, contractors, local councils and other agencies to target catchment priorities.

The regional organisations have motivated, supported and funded local communities to deliver more than 13,000 large and small projects.

Against a backdrop of the worst drought in living memory, the combined positive impact of this work is impressive.

The report says projects have taken place in virtually every corner of the State, as communities and individuals have applied local knowledge, skills and their own resources to improve the natural environments in which they live.

A copy of the report is available at www.namoi.cma.nsw.gov.au/nsw_cma_5year_achievements_final_2.pdf

Major research project underway on local wetlands
Mallee wetlands are playing a key role in a new project to monitor the health of Victoria’s most important wetlands.

Over 100 wetlands in the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (CMA) region will be assessed as part of the Index of Wetland Condition - a state-wide project assessing 750 natural, non-marine influenced wetlands in nine catchment authority (CMA) regions.

The Mallee CMA has the second-largest amount of wetlands to assess in Victoria. Assessments began recently at Lindsay Island and it’s expected the majority of local wetlands will be assessed by the end of the year.

The wetlands being tested were selected based on environmental, cultural and scientific values. Most are recognised under the Ramsar convention or the Directory of Important Wetlands and include well-known wetlands such as Hattah Lakes, Lindsay, Mulcra and Wallpolla Islands.

Testing of wetlands will focus on recording various indicators of health including the wetland’s soils, water, plants and the wetland landscape. A wetland assessment usually takes one to two hours to complete, but can take longer for large wetlands.

Mallee CMA chief executive officer Jenny Collins said the testing of local wetlands would contribute to important scientific evidence on the health of wetlands across Victoria and provide a benchmark for future management.

For more information go to www.malleecma.vic.gov.au

end

MDBA Basin News e-Letter, Issue 11, December 2009

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