|
Murray-Darling Basin Commission eLetter
No 77 May 2008
Welcome to the Murray-Darling Basin Commission monthly e-letter with reports of happenings across the Basin. Contributions are welcome. Please send items (no more than 250 words) to the editor at sam.leone@mdbc.gov.au An online html version is 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 www.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 1600 subscribers. In this issue:
Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said rainfall during March and April had been below average and system inflows were very low. “This is disappointing as historical records show that after a dry autumn, inflows into the upper Murray are not likely to be high,” she said. “While storages are slightly higher than this time last year, they are still well below long term averages and the prospects for irrigation over the coming year will have to depend entirely on rainfall over winter and spring.” Dr Craik said lower water availability would impact on all users and the environment. Critical urban, stock and domestic water needs for 2008-09 were reasonably assured. “Opening allocations for Murray irrigators are again expected to be very low or zero, though carryover water is reasonably assured,” Dr Craik said. “The condition of the Coorong and Lower Lakes in South Australia is grave and deteriorating. There has been no flow through the barrages since 2006 and last week we started pumping water into Lake Albert to prevent any further exposure of sulfidic sediments. “We are formulating medium to long term options for the Lower Lakes which we will present to the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council.” Dr Craik said other environmental concerns included the future of wetlands along the Murray which were disconnected to cut evaporative losses. “We might have to partially re-fill some wetlands to prevent serious and possibly irreversible degradation, as we are doing at Banrock Station Wetland later this month,” Dr Craik said. Dr Craik said the MDBC would continue to run the system to maximise water availability. This will include continuing reduced minimum flows from Hume Reservoir and minimum flows downstream of Yarrawonga to the South Australian border. “For the longer term, we are concerned at new evidence showing climate change is linked to the lower autumn rainfall in south eastern Australia. However, we will continue to work with all relevant State and Commonwealth governments on effective contingency plans,” Dr Craik said A copy of the Drought Update is available at www.mdbc,gov.au Native
Fish Awareness Week hooks NSW communities
The event is an initiative of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and this year it starts in Narrandera, travels through Condobolin, Forbes, Dubbo, Macquarie Marshes and Narrabri, before finishing in Tamworth. MDBC Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the week included special events such as guided river walks, wetland tours, hatchery tours, free displays, school visits and open community forums. The open community forums are from 7pm – 8:30pm, and are happening in:
The tour is a key event of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission’s (MDBC) Native Fish Strategy Community Stakeholder Task Force. The Task Force brings together community and local government representatives, fishing, conservation, Indigenous, landholder and catchment management interests. Task Force members will hear the views of the community on the status of native fish in their area and inspect projects funded by the MDBC or being undertaken by the community to restore native fish populations. “The visionary Native Fish Strategy aims to return native fish populations to 60 percent of their estimated pre- European settlement levels within 50 years,” Dr Craik said. “It has already been a success with increased community awareness of native fish issues and a program of “resnagging” in which large tree stumps, or snags, are placed strategically into rivers to provide refuge and habitat for native fish.” For a full list of dates and locations of the tour, or more information on the Native Fish Strategy, visit the MDBC website http://www.mdbc.gov.au/NFS. For more information on specific Native Fish Awareness Week events, contact the Caitlin Howlett 0407 492 456 Banrock
Station wetland refilled to save critical plant, animal life
Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the MDBC would make available 617 megalitres (ML) of Living Murray environmental water. Banrock Station will contribute an additional 215ML to the site. The watering will start in late May. Dr Craik said the water being used was an environmental entitlement, set aside to protect rivers and wetlands. Use of the water would not affect anyone else’s water allocations. The total amount of Living Murray water available to the environment across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia this year is about 17 GL which is about 1 per cent of the total volume of water available to consumptive users. Banrock Station’s Manager Mr Tony Sharley welcomed the watering and said his company was pleased to be able to make a clear statement of commitment to responsible environmental management during difficult times. “The watering project is an excellent example of governments working in partnership with industry to protect a unique ecological system that is critically stressed due to the ongoing drought,” he said. Dr Craik said Banrock Station wetland had been disconnected from the Murray River since January 2007 as a drought water saving measure, with more than 1600 ML saved during this time. “The wetland has been completely dry since March 2007 and the surrounding vegetation has not been inundated since November 2005,” Dr Craik said. “As a result, saline groundwater is rising to the surface and threatens the vegetation. “This could seriously impact on a number of plant and animal species such as river red gums, lignum thickets, sedgeland and populations of southern bell frog and river snail. The river red gum community has already exceeded the limits of acceptable change with about 10 per cent dead and more than 30 per cent severely stressed. “By watering in autumn and early winter we minimise evaporation and reduce the volume of water needed and make the most efficient use of our precious water resource. The wetland will be monitored for salts, nutrients and organic matter to determine if it will be later reconnected to the Murray,” Dr Craik said. Banrock Station was listed as a Ramsar Convention wetland in 2002, recognising it as an internationally significant wetland. For more information go to http://www.mdbc.gov.au/ New
report will boost Living Murray watering plans
Koondrook–Perricoota Forest is in the NSW part of the Ramsar-listed Murray floodplain wetland ‘Gunbower–Koondrook–Perricoota Forests’. Located along the Murray River between Echuca and Barham, it is the second largest red gum forest in Australia. It is one of the six ‘icon sites’ that will benefit from environmental watering under The Living Murray program. The report details work undertaken by the Scientific Services Division of the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change in collaboration with NSW Department of Water and Energy, Forests NSW, the Murray Darling Basin Commission and the NSW Department of Commerce. The report synthesises results from complex hydraulic modelling into simple, practical tools for use by environmental water managers. It will also help in assessing the ecological benefits from environmental watering of the Koondrook–Perricoota wetlands. The work will help to implement Basin-scale hydrological models of environmental flow diversions from the Murray River. The floodplain modelling was performed in three stages, moving progressively from simple to more complex forms. Knowledge of the wetland inundation processes was improved in each stage to better formulate more comprehensive model forms. The accuracy of inundation areas predicted by each model under a range of hydrological conditions is also discussed. The modelling work was supported by soils and ground water investigations, remote sensing analysis and mapping of historical flood events. The authors conclude that an ecological target of 30 per cent inundation of the wetlands is achievable from planned diversion flows from the Murray. Likely inundation patterns and return flows from short- and long-duration enhanced flooding of the wetlands are also estimated. For more information and to download a copy of the report, go to: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/wetlands/KoondrookPerricoota.htm Pumping
starts in lower Murray lakes
The Minister for Climate Change and Water and Chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council, Senator Penny Wong, and the South Australian Minister for the River Murray, Karlene Maywald, said the pumping would be undertaken by South Australian Government agencies for the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC). The Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council agreed to provide $6 million at its meeting in March for emergency measures to address the critical situation in the Lower Lakes. The funds will be used to pump water from Lake Alexandrina to maintain Lake Albert at its current level and prevent further exposure of sulfidic sediments on the bed of Lake Albert. “The Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert wetlands are among our best-known wetland systems and an icon site under The Living Murray initiative. Their importance is recognised internationally,” Senator Wong said. “However, declining water availability has led to a decline in the site’s health. “At Lake Albert, the situation
today is serious. The extremely low water levels mean that there is a real
risk of irreversible damage from exposure of acid sulfate soils.”
Minister Maywald said the South Australian Government was extremely concerned about the long-term damage that has already occurred in the Lower Lakes as a result of over-allocation and the current extreme drought. “The Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth is an internationally recognised Ramsar-listed site and is part of two key agreements regarding environmental conditions for migratory birds. It is a very valuable site for the Murray-Darling Basin,” Minister Maywald said. “The Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council has recognised that the crisis facing the Lower Lakes is a national issue and that all jurisdictions in the Basin must be part of the solution. “The Lake Albert pumping project is a temporary measure that will prevent the lake from acidifying. “The ultimate solution is more water flowing down to the end of the system to improve the health of the Lakes and Coorong.” The additional water provided from Lake Alexandrina is expected have a minimal impact on that lake but is expected to safeguard Lake Albert until later this year. Extensive monitoring will be undertaken to evaluate the effects of the pumping on Lake Albert. In coming days, a silt plume may be visible in the channel connecting Lake Albert and Lake Alexandrina due to the large volume of water being transferred. The MDBC will provide options for the medium- to long-term management of the Lower Lakes to the Ministerial Council at its October 2008 meeting. MDBC will also provide an interim report to the Ministerial Council in May on the status of the Lower Lakes and other significant wetlands in the Basin. For more information go to www.environment.gov.au/minister/wong/2008/index.html Hume
release falls to save water
Similar to last winter, the lower than normal minimum flow rates for the Hume release and for the Murray River at Doctors Point would apply from 7 May. Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the release from Hume Reservoir would be reduced from 600 to 400 ML/day. It will only be increased above 400 ML/day if inflows from the Kiewa River are very low and the flow at Doctors Point is expected to fall below 800 ML/day (1.32 m gauge height) rather than the usual minimum of 1 200 ML/day (1.48 m gauge height)”. The 400 ML/day release from Hume Reservoir equates to a level in the Murray River at Heywoods Bridge of about 1.05 m (gauge height). Currently it is 1.21 m (gauge height). Boat operators, stock owners, river pumpers and other river users are advised to take these changed water levels into account and make any necessary adjustments to their activities. For the latest information go to www.mdbc.gov.au/rmw/river_information_centre Murray
River community leaders visit lower lakes
The 29-member group represents a range of interests and regions relating to the Murray-Darling system and the six icon sites. 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 visit to the lower Murray was in response to the group’s concern about the plight of this icon site, and to ensure that future advice is relevant and realistic. The visit included a field trip where they were joined by 11 Murray-Darling Basin Community Advisory Committee members, along with local community members and agency staff. They heard expert information from:
Mr Trevorrow spoke about the impact of the drought and lack of water on their environment and people. The next CRG meeting will be a joint meeting with the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations to further develop partnerships between these two community groups. This meeting will be held in Albury on 25-26 August 2008. For more information contact Sandra Volk, CAC Executive Officer on 62790532 Global
warming linked to rainfall decline in south-east Australia
That’s one of the findings discussed at a science review for land and water resource managers organised by the South-Eastern Australia Climate Initiative (SEACI) in Melbourne in late April. SEACI, which began in 2006, is a three-year, $7 million collaboration between six agencies to provide the most intensive analysis yet of factors responsible for the rainfall decline over the past decade and inflows into the Murray-Darling river systems. The partners are the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC), Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, Australia’s Managing Climate Variability program, CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology. The Murray-Darling Basin Commission is the managing agency of the program. MDBC Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO research for SEACI had generated increasing evidence of the impacts of global warming on rainfall in the south-east of Australia. “The research shows there are firm signals in the current drought that correlate with future projections of reduced rainfall in southern Australia,” Dr Craik said. “It also provides evidence of a clear north-south rainfall divide on either side of a naturally occurring band of high pressure (known as the sub-tropical ridge) roughly on a line running east to west through Adelaide and Canberra.” The research is detailed in a report by scientists at the Bureau of Meteorology. A copy is available at http://www.mdbc.gov.au/subs/seaci/research_reports.html or contact team leader Dr Bertrand Timbal at the Bureau of Meteorology on 03-9669 4697. Dr Craik said the Melbourne meeting also discussed SEACI’s work on an extensive review of a century of rainfall and temperature records and a refinement of climate models to deliver localised seasonal forecasts. “Researchers are looking for patterns in oceanic and atmospheric conditions over and around Australia that will provide clues to present and future climate change, its impacts on water resources and lead to improvement in the quality of seasonal forecasts,” she said. For more information go to www.mdbc.gov.au/subs/seaci/index.html Lake
Mulwala level to be lowered
The water released from the lake will be used to supply this year’s remaining irrigation demands in line with Murray operations over the coming months. The lower lake level will enable future high inflows from the Ovens and Kiewa Rivers to be re-regulated within the lake, so that releases from the Lake can be maintained as far as possible at rates within the river’s channel capacity downstream. Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik said this would minimise overbank flow during small flushes and thus reduce evaporation losses in the Barmah-Millewa Forest. “The lowering to 123.8m will not by itself lead to any significant weed control. However, we have been exploring options to further lower the lake level over winter to help control weed growth and for periodic maintenance of the weir. “A decision on whether further lowering will occur will not be made until after diversions into the Yarrawonga Main Canal cease about 15 May,” Dr Craik said. “The initial lowering over the coming weeks will mean that any decision to further lower the lake level can be implemented quite quickly. However we need to be clear that such a decision must balance irrigation needs and environmental implications along the entire Murray Valley.” MDBC hope to lower the lake as much as possible to allow frost to kill the weed. Unfortunately, given the scarcity of water it is not possible to guarantee that the further lowering will happen or that the lake will be held low for a long enough period. To enable irrigation diversion at the commencement of the next irrigation season, the level of Lake Mulwala will need to be returned to the lower bounds of its operating range by late July. “MDBC will continue to review Murray operations as the season develops and will provide regular updates over the coming weeks and months on likely water levels in Lake Mulwala,” Dr Craik said. Boat operators, stock owners, river pumpers and other lake users are advised to take these changed water levels into account and make any necessary adjustments to their activities. For the latest information on river operations go to www.mdbc.gov.au/rmw/river_information_centre Relief
for Victoria’s stressed wetlands
Six gigalitres (GL) of Living Murray water from the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC), together with up to 11 GL of Victorian environmental water, targeted critical sites needing urgent watering. MDBC Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the Living Murray water used at Lindsay Walpolla in the Mallee would help prevent 200 year old river red gums from dying. The environmental watering program included the Gunbower Wetlands north-west of Echuca; Little Lake Boort west of Echuca; the Lindsay-Walpolla icon site in the Mallee; and the Reedy, Kinnaird, Black and Moodies swamps near Shepparton subject to delivery constraints. The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) provided water for critical drought refuges in key areas in the north-central, Goulburn-Broken and Mallee catchments. DSE Executive Director of Sustainable Water, Environment and Innovation, Dr Jane Doolan, said that the number of water birds in eastern Australia has fallen dramatically due to the drought and the watering is urgently needed to provide drought refuges for these birds and other species. “Drought has had a dramatic impact on water birds with numbers falling by two-thirds compared to a normal year. Drought refuges are vital for water birds as well as other species such as Murray Cod, tortoises and frogs,” Dr Doolan said. Dr Craik said that water from the Living Murray program would provide respite to the drought refuges and also to stressed River Red Gums. “Without the use of a small amount of water many of the river red gums in northern Victoria will die,” Dr Craik said. For more information go to www.mdbc.gov.au/__data/page/29/mrreliefforstressedwetlands1.pdf Boat
Speed Restrictions Introduced at Waranga Basin
G-MW is pumping from Waranga Basin and as water levels fall the emergence of logs and stumps throughout the Basin, which could make conditions hazardous for boating activities, is likely. Soft ground conditions in the lake bed may also pose a hazard for vehicles and people and visitors should avoid driving or walking on the lake bed. G-MW has successfully obtained funding from Marine Safety Victoria for construction of a low level boat ramp at Harrimans Point. Works to construct the low level ramp will commence in May to take advantage of the current low storage levels. Temporary boat launching facilities are also being maintained at Harrimans Point to provide access for smaller fishing vessels. The 5 knot speed restriction is expected to remain until the basin level recovers. For more information go to http://www.g-mwater.com.au/ 1.3
million plantings help landholders adapt to climate change
The plantings are part of the local catchment management authority’s landholder incentive programs designed to improve natural resource management. More than 450 farmers have joined forces with the Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority (CMA) to improve biodiversity, water quality and long-term farm sustainability by agreeing to a Property Vegetation Plan (PVP) and simultaneously contributing to meeting the climate change challenge. “This year’s plantings have the potential to result in 44,410 tonnes of carbon sequestration over the next ten years (Greenfleet: Australian Tree Totaller),” said Mr O’Brien. “This is equivalent to 1,018 cars being removed from the road each year, for the next ten years.” Murrumbidgee CMA Chair Mr Lee O’Brien said the benefits of the Murrumbidgee CMA plantings offer practical solutions in adapting to the challenges of climate change. “With impending climate change impacts predicted to result in extreme weather events, revegetated areas will offer landholders stock shelter options in cases of extreme low temperatures or heat,” Mr O’Brien said. Economic effects of adaption to climate change are benefiting communities in the catchment, with local contractors employed to supply seedlings and fencing, rip planting lines and plant the 1.3 million native trees and shrubs. “This will result in a significant improvement in woodland bird diversity as tree and shrub cover across the catchment increases," said Mr O’Brien. Since December 2005, the Murrumbidgee CMA has partnered landholders in investing more than $4.4 million for the planting of 2.1 million trees and shrubs in the Murrumbidgee catchment. For more information go to www.murrumbidgee.cma.nsw.gov.au/ Mallee
parrots in glovebox guide
These are just some of the species that can be found in a new glovebox guide and two new posters for identifying parrots of the Mallee region. The publications were developed as part of a joint project between the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and Victoria’s Department of Sustainability and Environment with additional support from Lower Murray Darling CMA, the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage, the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and Birds Australia. The publications provide a colourful introduction to most parrot species found in south eastern Australian mallee habitats. “The guide aims to assist landholders and other community members to easily identify particular species of parrots on their properties and in their local area,” said Mallee CMA Board Chair Joan Burns. “It is also intended to be used as a resource in schools to educate students about the different species of parrot that call the Mallee home. Two complementary posters have also been developed as part of the tri-state project to assist in the identification of the species.” The guide demonstrates the diversity of parrots that can be found in the Mallee, and features the 20 species most commonly seen in the unique Mallee environment. It includes colourful illustrations and detailed descriptions of parrot species, and identifies particular threats to their survival. For more information and copies of A guide to identifying parrots of the Mallee region and complementary posters contact the Mallee CMA on 5051 4377. Residents of NSW can obtain copies from the Lower Murray Darling CMA 5021 9460 or the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change 5021 8900. ends
|
COMMUNICATIONS