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Murray-Darling Basin Commission –
February 2007, E-letter No 63
Welcome to the Murray-Darling Basin monthly e-letter with reports of happenings across the Basin. Contributions are welcome. Please send items (no more than 150 words) to the editor at sam.leone@mdbc.gov.au Online html versions are available at: www.mdbc.gov.au/communications/s-scribe/eletter_menu Please feel free to pass this e-letter along to anybody who might be interested. To subscribe online go to http://mdbc.gov.au/communications/s-scribe To be removed from the mailing list, please reply to this message with “unsubscribe” in the subject heading. This newsletter currently has 1200 subscribers. (See also The Living Murray
website at www.thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au)
Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik released the update on 12 February – the 6th update since December 2004 – produced by the MDBC’s River Murray Water division. Inflows for the season to date (eight months June to January) have been only 660 GL, which is 60% of the previous recorded minimum of 1 170 GL observed in 1983, and only 9% of the long-term average of 8 000 GL for the same period. “With no significant rainfall in the higher yielding upper catchment areas for more than a year, flows from groundwater systems into streams have virtually dried up,” Dr Craik said. Forecasts by the Bureau of Meteorology were now more promising, with a bias towards higher than median rainfall for the period February to April. “However, catchments are still extremely dry and rainfall would need to be well above average to produce average inflows to upper Murray storages.” Dr Craik said. “Typically it takes a number of years for storage levels to recover to near average levels following extreme drought events. This is because storages only rise significantly in very wet periods, particularly winter/spring, when there is enough water to meet full irrigation requirements and also to store additional water for future years. “Inflow conditions throughout 2007/08 would have to be at a level experienced in only about one year in ten (over the long term) in order to raise storage levels to near average levels.” The update reports that with very low storage reserves forecast for the end of May 2007, irrigation in 2007/08 is much more dependent on rain and run-off than in any previous year, since Dartmouth Dam was completed in 1979. “This does not mean there will be no water available in 2007/08. Murray catchment inflows, together with any future contributions from the Snowy Mountains Scheme, would still be available, albeit at very low levels, if dry conditions continue,” Dr Craik said. A copy of the Drought Update is available for download at http://www.mdbc.gov.au The drought and water safety
precautions
Ms Pike issued the warning at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in January while visiting 17-year-old Hayden Hore who became a quadriplegic after diving into the Murray River while on a family holiday in Albury in November. “Spinal injuries can be devastating and there’s no second chance,” Ms Pike said. “Low water intake levels means our rivers, dams and creeks have dropped substantially and branches and logs that may have once been at the bottom are now much closer to the surface. “Places where people jumped in for a swim last summer may no longer be safe.” Ms Pike said the tragedy
of spinal injuries is that many accidents can be avoided.
The Director of the Victorian
Spinal Cord Service at Austin Health, Associate Professor Doug Brown,
urged people to follow a number of safety precautions.
“If you do decide to jump in, make sure you jump, not dive. Jumping in feet first is much safer than diving in head first and risking a broken neck. Boating
These diminishing waterways
are still attracting large numbers of boaters but they need to be aware
of difficulties caused by the falling water levels. These include previously-submerged
objects now being closer to the surface.
For more boating safety advice, or for your nearest NSW Maritime Operations Centre, call the NSW Maritime Infoline on 13 12 56. For updates on water levels go to www.waterinfo.nsw.gov.au Locks to cut boat use
New venture
boosts Murray-Darling Basin water research
The new venture will see greater involvement from La Trobe University researchers working closely with CSIRO colleagues and substantial ongoing funding from the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and from the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. MDBC Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the closer working arrangements would be a great boost to the science underpinning sustainable management of the Murray River’s plant and animal life. “The research will help us understand more about the river’s nutrient cycles, algal blooms, fish and invertebrate ecology,” she said. “The agreement reaffirms and formalises the long standing and valuable partnership that exists between CSIRO and the MDBC. The co-location of staff on the University campus will enable greater research collaboration between La Trobe University and CSIRO researchers. “Both organisations bring a wealth of intellectual capital and decades of expertise in disciplines which are crucial to the environmental health of the rivers and floodplains of the Basin. “This enhanced relationship and ongoing investment demonstrates a huge commitment by all parties to the region,” Dr Craik said. Dean of La Trobe’s Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, Professor David Finlay, said the new joint venture was “a wonderful chance to build substantial additional research strengths in what is a very pressing new area for research and fundamental knowledge.” The original MDFRC was formed in 1986 to generate and communicate knowledge for managing aquatic ecosystems, particularly iconic assets such as the Murray River. The new centre will be located at La Trobe University campuses at Albury-Wodonga and Mildura. For more information or interview requests contact: Sam Leone, MDBC, Phone: 0407 006 332 Water savings
could achieve positive environmental results
The proposal to disconnect selected artificially and permanently inundated wetlands is part of number of measures announced recently by the Australian, New South Wales, Victorian and South Australian governments to secure urban water supplies should the drought continue through 2007–08. The proposals arose from the heads-of-government water summit in November 2006 One of these actions is to temporarily disconnect some low-lying wetlands within the River Murray system that are usually permanently full of water due to the weir pools along the mid to lower River Murray. This will save evaporation losses from these wetlands. MDBC Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik said disconnecting wetlands avoids evaporation of water released from upstream storages that enters these wetlands. “As a result, the wetlands slowly dry out as the remaining water evaporates. In this case, water savings will be considerable – more than 50 gigalitres across three states. The water supply for cities and towns that rely on the river could be helped by this measure,” Dr Craik said. “Importantly, this initiative could also provide environmental benefits to the River Murray system. If you walk around a wetland that has experienced this cycle, such as Lake Moira in the Barmah-Millewa Forest, you’ll notice diverse bird, plant and fish communities. These benefits will be seen over repeated wetting/drying cycles. “However, there can be some negative environmental results, such as acidification and salinisation of the wetlands. Environmental managers need to strike a balance between avoiding drying out those wetlands where long term damage may occur, and focussing on sites where long term benefits can be gained, Dr Craik said. While flooded wetlands will now receive an opportunity to dry out, work is also being done to provide water to other wetlands at The Living Murray’s icon sites that are not flooded as regularly as before river regulation. While some flooded wetlands will now receive an opportunity to dry out, the Murray-Darling Basin Living Murray program includes providing water to iconic wetlands that are not flooded as often as before river regulation. This is a priority under the Murray-Darling Basin Commission’s The Living Murray program. For a complete copy of the new fact sheet go to http://thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au/whats_new MDBC Chief
Executive awarded Order of Australia
She received the award for services to the natural resource sector of the economy, particularly in the areas of fisheries, marine ecology and management of water reform, and for contributions to policies affecting rural and regional Australia. Dr Craik has headed the MDBC
since August 2004. Just before taking up her position at MDBC, Dr Craik
was the President of the National Competition Council (NCC) and Chair of
the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA).
New Murray-Darling Basin commissioner
appointed
Mr Scanlon leaves the position to take up a senior position with the United Nations Environment Programme at its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. South Australian River Murray Minister Karlene Maywald commended Mr Scanlon on the way he had accelerated efforts to improve the health of the river and put reform of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission on the national agenda. “Mr Scanlon was first appointed to the position 12 months ago and he has been a strong and independent advocate for the Murray-Darling Basin and brought passion and independent thinking to the commission, highlighting the need to change the way it operates,” Minister Maywald said. “His landmark paper ‘One hundred years of negotiations with no end in sight – where is the MDB Initiative leading us?’ is a major contribution to the present debate on how to enhance our efforts to bring the MDB system back to good health. She said Mr Kowalick would assume his commissioner position immediately. “He brings extensive experience in public policy, governance and inter-government relations to the table. “Currently, Murray-Darling Basin governance arrangements are under review and Mr Kowalick’s skills and experience ensure that he will be a valuable contributor,” she said. For more information on the appointment go to www.ministers.sa.gov.au For more information on the Murray-Darling Basin Commission go to www.mdbc.gov.au Tagged native fish
prove success of innovative fishways
Many of the fish are showing tags that track them from lock 10 at Wentworth downriver from Mildura. Lock 10 was completed in October last year along with Lock 9. They complement the fishways already completed under the project at Locks 7, 8, 15 and the barrages near the Murray Mouth. Work has begun on a fishway at Lock 1 at Blanchetown in South Australia. The innovative vertical slot designs allow fish to pass the weir by gradually negotiating a number of pools at a small gradient. The new fishways are part of the MDBC’s $45 million “Sea to Hume Dam” project which aims to provide continuous passage for native fish from the mouth of the Murray River to Hume Dam, a distance of about 2300km. This enables native species to complete a range of life cycle requirements, including breeding and feeding, up and down the River. The latest news from Mildura is further evidence that things are looking up for the Murray’s native fish. Fish monitoring is helping to improve fishway performance and, excitingly, showing that the structures are allowing large numbers of fish to move through the Murray River’s weirs and dams. The fishway structures’ unique design has attracted strong international interest. Another success has been a trial program of “resnagging” in which large tree stumps, or snags, are placed strategically into rivers. The snags slow down fast flowing water and help to recreate original river habitats for native fish. The technique can be targeted
at particular species and sites and has worked very well for a variety
of fish species.
Construction
works to historic Bethanga Bridge completed
Built from 1927 to 1930 to provide access across the reservoir being created by the construction of Hume Dam – ownership of the bridge passed from the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) to the road authorities of Victoria and New South Wales in September 2005. At the time of the transfer, President of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC), the Rt Hon Ian Sinclair AC, described the works and ownership transfer as "a happy conjunction of the long-held wishes of the local communities that regularly use the bridge, and the authorities responsible for managing this important structure." A key condition of the transfer was that the MDBC would fund works included repainting the bridge, installing contemporary crash barriers, and increasing its load carrying capacity. These works have now been completed. The works were supervised by River Murray Water, a division of the MDBC which that operates the River Murray System and its structures. Bethanga Bridge is a substantial structure 750m long, comprising a two-lane concrete roadway supported by nine large steel trusses. These trusses are in turn supported on pairs of concrete piers. The repainting work involved the contractor removing the old paint from all of the steel trusses, much of the paint being lead-based. The contractor used two mobile full-encapsulation units throughout this work. The vehicle load capacity was lifted from 15 to 30 tonnes by removing the old modular concrete slabs and replacing them with a composite concrete decking. Current safety standards also required the original pipe-and-mesh side barriers to be replaced with a contemporary crash barrier system. The short ‘approach span’ on the NSW side was modified for strength, alignment and level, and crack repairs were carried out to both abutment piers. The end of these works marks
the completion of the Commission’s financial
For more information contact River Murray Water on (02) 6279 0100. Community
advisors’ meeting to focus on northern Basin
The CAC is a formally appointed
group of 23 people with a wide range of expertise and networks throughout
the Basin. Committee members are appointed for their skills in governance,
natural resource planning and management, community
They advise the Ministerial Council, from a community viewpoint, on critical natural resource management issues within the Basin. The Toowoomba meeting will hear a “State of the Darling” joint presentation to the CAC and Darling Initiative Working Group. This presentation and other agenda items will help CAC members provide a “whole of Basin” approach when formulating ministerial advice. For more information contact Linda Kelly, Executive Officer on (02)62790532 or email linda.kelly@mdbc.gov.au Water
summit to bring together key decision makers
Organisers say “industry wide upheaval” makes the summit “a must attend” event for water industry professionals to discuss and update on the significant challenges being faced by the water industry. Murray-Darling Basin Commission Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik will speak on water issues from a Basin perspective. Other presentations and case studies will focus on:
River Murray community
leaders visit Albury
The Living Murray Community Reference Group meets three times a year and comprises 32 members who represent a range of interests and regions relating to the River Murray. The Group was established to seek out a wide variety of community views and provide advice to influence decisions regarding The Living Murray program. The Group’s members are also an important point of contact for finding out about and providing input into The Living Murray. The Group will tour Hume Dam and hear about management issues of the River system in the current drought. For more information contact Linda Kelly, CAC Executive Officer on 62790532 email: linda.kelly@mdbc.gov.au ABS thanks farmers
for ‘best Ag Census response ever’
In a media release, the Bureau said, “well over 90% of the Census questionnaires, which were sent out to 190,000 Australian businesses, have been completed and returned.” Gemma Van Halderen, head of the ABS's Agriculture Program said: "We know resources on the land are stretched to the limit, so it's great to see that farmers can still take the time to provide the ABS with information that's essential to understanding Australian agriculture." "Their response has been excellent, farmers really understand the importance of the Ag Census and know how much industry and government rely on accurate information on Australia's agricultural industry." Agricultural Census data measures production in all agricultural industries, and supports the formulation and monitoring of agriculture policy. It is used by decision makers involved in producing, supplying, marketing and trading agricultural commodities. The Agricultural Census is held every five years. As well, the 2005-06 Agricultural Census data will help inform natural resource policy relating to agriculture and assist the monitoring of social issues affecting rural communities. Precise property location
details, which were collected for the first time this year, will be particularly
helpful for users of resource management and water data to obtain output
by more flexible and relevant geographic regions.
For More information go to www.abs.gov.au ends
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