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Murray-Darling Basin Commission –
October 2007, E-letter No 71
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 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 1467 subscribers.
Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the two-monthly update reported that rainfall and inflows over August and September, while better than last year, had still been among the lowest ever and that the outlook for the next few months was not good. The update shows rising river salinity in South Australia, damage to the environment and the threat of blue green algal blooms developing. “We are managing the Murray storages outside the normal operating regime to conserve water and minimise losses,” Dr Craik said. “As rainfall failed in August and as inflows from the Kiewa and Ovens receded, we had to increase releases from Hume Dam in mid September.” Dr Craik said Yarrawonga Weir pool was lowered to cut evaporation losses and the first stage of the drawdown at Euston Weir and its associated lakes began in August. The weir at Torrumbarry will be used to re-regulate flows along the mid reaches of the Murray causing pool levels to fluctuate during the next few months. The MDBC is also considering a drawdown of Weirs 8 and 9 but water users will be notified well in advance. Dr Craik said weir pool levels in South Australia would remain as close as possible to full supply levels to contain salinity increases. “Low rainfall and high temperatures in August and September have resulted in inflows and storage levels well below the levels for the corresponding time last year,” Dr Craik said. “The Bureau of Meteorology has reported that this is the first time in the meteorological record dating from 1900 that an El Niño-drought in the Murray-Darling Basin has not been followed by at least one three-month period with above normal rainfall (Basin average) by the end of the following winter. “Current water availability is the lowest for the Murray system based on modelling of the past 116 years,” Dr Craik said. “Unless there is heavy rain over the next few months there will be serious consequences for human users and for the environment.” To read the complete MDBC Drought Update go to http://www.mdbc.gov.au/ Murray
salt interception scheme wins top engineering awards
Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the Pyramid Creek Salt Interception Scheme near Kerang, Victoria also won the Award for Environment and Sustainability. “On behalf of the Commission and it’s partner agencies, I am delighted to see the scheme being honoured in this way. It is recognition of the vital role it plays in helping keep the Murray healthy by keeping salt at bay,” Dr Craik said. The Pyramid Creek scheme was funded by the Victorian, South Australian, New South Wales and Australian Governments through the MDBC. It was the first public-private partnership salt interception arrangement to incorporate salt harvesting as an initial design feature to achieve a sustainable system. Dr Craik officially opened the Pyramid Creek scheme - part of the Basin Salinity Management Strategy’s $60 million program of salt interception works - in 2006. Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) oversaw its construction and manages the scheme on behalf of the MDBC’s partner governments. A private firm, Pyramid Salt, runs the commercial salt harvesting facility. Dr Craik said the scheme works by diverting saline ground water away from Pyramid Creek into harvesting ponds. Pyramid Salt extracts the salt and sells it commercially. “Salt interception schemes are large-scale groundwater pumping and drainage projects that intercept saline water flows and dispose of them, generally by evaporation,” Dr Craik said. “Such engineering works are required to make immediate gains against salinity across the Basin, and more than 1,000 tonnes of salt would enter the Murray River system every day were it not for the operation of these schemes at strategic points along the river. “The Pyramid Creek scheme is a perfect example of how organisations can work together to deliver multiple benefits.” For more information on salt interception schemes go to www.mdbc.gov.au/salinity/salt_interception MDBC
RiverHealth conference will launch National Water Week
The Murray-Darling Basin Commission has been the major sponsor for the RiverHealth Conference since it began in 1999. It forms part of the MDBC's wide range of environmental education activities in the Basin. This is the first time the conference, based on the highly successful ‘kids teaching kids’ concept has been held in the national capital. Registrations for the event sold out four months ago with about 300 applicants being turned away. Organiser Arron Wood, who this year was awarded the Banksia Foundation Prime Minister's Environmentalist of the Year Award, said the 2003 and 2005 events involved 500 students, 170 teachers, 700 participants in total from around Australia and overseas. “This year’s event is less about a conference and more about a lasting commitment to our youth, the environment and the sustainable use of our natural resources,” he said. “The MDBC International River Health Conference is the culmination of a process which involves students working with expert mentors many months prior to the event. “It results in children with strong motivation, high self esteem, respect for others and a belief in a bright and compelling future – they realize they can have an impact.” Arron says the 2007 MDBC International River Health Conference will provide students with skills in environmental education, build students who are optimistic, have a sense of future, are capable public speakers and can communicate ideas in many different forms. “Most importantly, the process is about promoting ‘kids teaching kids’ as the highest form of learning and aiming for a cultural change in the way we view, use and perceive our natural environment. For more information go to www.onelifeoneworldourfuture.com Inaugural
MDBC PhD scholar explores the art of NRM
Carolyn Young has degrees and professional experience in natural resource management and she is also a qualified fine art photographer with a graduate diploma from the Australian National University. Working with the Australian National University’s Environment Studio Field Studies program (which is sponsored by the MDBC) Carolyn will explore how ecosystems and natural resource management issues can be represented visually and artistically. “I’ll be looking at what this means for the more traditional methods of researching and understanding the environment,” she said. “Photography has long been used to shape Australians’ view of and relationship with the environment. “Since its invention, photography has been used as a form of documentary. For example, Richard Daintree’s photographs of geological features and Charles Bayliss’s photographs of the drought and flood along the Darling River were considered important evidence at the 1868 NSW Royal Commission. “Australians have become familiar with their unique wilderness through the publication of photographs in books, magazines, calendars, brochures and posters. “Naturalists and environmental activists have used wilderness photographs to promote the protection of the environment, with the most famous and successful being the newspaper publication of Peter Dombrovski’s “Rock Island Bend” during the Franklin River campaign in 1983,” Carolyn said. Carolyn will do field work photographing in four Murray-Darling Basin catchments. She plans to engage with scientists and landholders to produce art based on healthy ecosystems outside of nature reserves. “The aim will be to produce a series of exhibitions of fine art photographs and to produce a dissertation that will assist with developing a procedural model which enhances emerging visual artist engagement in natural resource management. Carolyn Young will be using the ANU School of Art Field Studies program as a case study. The Field Studies program, whih is sponsored by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, aims to provide sustained field based studies for visual artists, primarily the students at the ANU School of Art, with a focus on natural resource management issues. For more information on art and the environment contact John Reid, Environment Studio, School of Art, Faculty of Arts, The Australian National University, (02) 6125 5809. MDBC-Murray Darling Association curriculum
projects launched
The projects included a “Living River” education workbook (which will become part of the NSW primary school curriculum), a children’s river health poster (produced by students for students) and funding for a fish tank at the Environmental Education Centre at Burrumbuttock. The full-colour poster and web-based curriculum material on The Living Murray was developed by students and teachers from six upper Murray schools and will be available for schools along the length of the Murray River. The Living Murray – an MDBC program – is Australia’s most significant river restoration program. It aims to achieve a healthy working River Murray system for the benefit of all Australians. “These initiatives reflect the creativity and enthusiasm of primary school students and their teachers along the Murray River,” Dr Craik said. “They demonstrate an interest in learning about the Murray River and wanting to do something about it.” Following the launch, Dr Craik was interviewed for a DVD being developed on The Living Murray. This DVD will accompany The Living Murray student work book. For more information contact Adrian Wells, Murray Darling Association on 02 6021 3655 mobile 0407 903195 For more information on The Living Murray program go to http://www.mdbc.gov.au/ Community
advice for The Living Murray program
The Group was established to provide advice to the Murray-Darling Basin Community Advisory Committee on all aspects of The Living Murray’s implementation. Made up of 30 members, it includes representatives from the Indigenous community, irrigation sector, environmental groups, industry, local government and the business community. The Community Advisory Committee considers the CRG’s advice and communicates it to The Living Murray Committee, the Commission and the Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council. For more information on The Living Murray program go to http://www.mdbc.gov.au/ Water
trading rules through Barmah Choke to be relaxed
Chief Executive Dr Wendy Craik AM said the rules were being relaxed so entitlement holders who do not need water can sell downstream where it is in greater demand. “Water amounts traded under this arrangement are ‘allocations’ of actual amounts of water available this year. Trade in ‘permanent entitlements’ will continue to be prohibited,” Dr Craik said. “Initially, transfers will be allowed to be registered with State authorities up to 14 December this year.” State water authorities are soon expected to announce the relaxation of the rules and to begin processing requests for trades across the choke. Dr Craik said the decision to relax the restrictions on trading between these areas was made last week in Canberra at a meeting of the Commission, which includes State and territory partners. “Transfers downstream through the Barmah Choke are not normally allowed because, as the name implies, the Choke constrains the volume of water that can pass and we cannot guarantee additional flows,” Dr Craik said. “However, because of the drought conditions and the extreme low level of the river, there is less water flowing and we will now be able to guarantee any traded flows.” The Barmah Choke is a narrow section of the Murray River between Tocumwal and Barmah that makes it difficult, during normal flow conditions, to move large volumes of water downstream without overflowing the banks. “If weather conditions change and we have more water, we might need to terminate the trading arrangement. However, any transfers approved up to that time will be honoured,” Dr CRaik said. For more information on Basin water trading go to www.mdbc.gov.au/nrm/water_issues/water_trade Sealing
reservoirs could slash evaporation losses
A monolayer is an ultra-thin liquid coating which ‘seals’ the surface of large dam reservoirs and limits the escape of water vapour from the effects of wind, heat and sunshine. CRC IF says initial results in NSW and Queensland show monolayer technology is cost-effective compared with other evaporation control methods. The spray-on mixture spreads quickly over large water surfaces, forms an environmentally-friendly protective layer, and can reduce evaporation loss by up to 40 percent. CRC IF says evaporation loss from Australia’s two million farm dams is estimated at 1,320,000 megalitres – 2.6 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour – every year. The severely depleted water storages across southern Australia are even more vulnerable to evaporation loss due to their shallow water levels and large surface areas. Monolayer technology, if widely adopted, could help save what water we have over the coming hot dry summer. Fast-spreading monolayers are easy to apply and more affordable than other types of evaporation controls, such as floating covers or shade cloth, according to CRC IF researcher Mr Erik Schmidt of the University of Southern Queensland. “While plastic covers are suitable for dams up to five hectares in size, really large dams need another solution, such as monolayers,” says Mr Schmidt. Three Cooperative Research Centres are collaborating to develop new monolayer compounds. They are Irrigation Futures CRC, Cotton Catchment Communities CRC, and Polymers CRC. For more information go http://www.irrigationfutures.org.au Keeping
the Murray Mouth open
South Australian Minister
for the River Murray Karlene Maywald said recently that
But with the ongoing drought and low flows in the River Murray it continued, expanded and is likely to continue for some time yet “During August, South Australia received only 1100 megalitres a day over the border, compared with the normal minimum of 4000 megalitres a day. “We have never run the river at such low flows for such an extended period of time,” she said. “Dredging helps maintain the Coorong by providing oxygenated seawater through tidal exchange but more freshwater flow is needed down the Murray to return the Coorong to a functioning estuary and to keep the Mouth open.” Minister Maywald says boating access past the Murray Mouth will again be available this summer as dredging continues but unlike previous years, there will be no access through Tauwitchere or Goolwa barrages because of continuing low Lake Alexandrina levels. For more information
got to www.ministers.sa.gov.au/news.php?minister=13
Have
your say on Food Bowl Modernisation Project
The one billion dollar project aims to generate up to 225 gigalitres of water to be shared equally between irrigators, the environment and Melbourne. The project, which encompasses irrigation modernisation in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District, has strong communication and engagement elements to ensure that the future irrigation system is a shared government/community vision. The public consultation submission process is open until 23 October with a series of public presentations to be held across the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District. The steering committee will then present its final report to Cabinet. For more information and copies of submission go to www.ourwater.vic.gov.au or email linda.kelly@dse.vic.gov.au Investment
strategy developed for NRM funding
Once approved, the funding will support the Central West CMA’s incentive programs, major projects and community training for the key issues described in the Catchment Action Plan. These programs will start from July 2008. A set of draft management actions have been proposed for inclusion in the investment strategy. These management actions were recommended by teams of scientific experts and practitioners at a workshop in early 2007. The proposed management actions cover salinity, soils, water, vegetation, biodiversity, people and community, Indigenous and European cultural heritage, For more information go to www.cw.cma.nsw.gov.au/news.html Volunteers
needed to boost health of Mallee waterways
This project is managed by the Bureau of Rural Sciences and is funded by the Australian Government through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. It aims to provide communities with the means to identify areas within their catchments that are at risk from salinity. The Mallee Waterwatch team will provide equipment and training to volunteers within the Victorian Mallee to monitor the water quality of local wetlands, lakes and creeks for various parameters including salinity. Monitoring would require between half to one hour of time (plus any travel time) in the first week of every month. Community Stream Sampling Volunteers can be any age and live anywhere in the Mallee region. Prior knowledge of water quality issues is not necessary, just enthusiasm and an interest in your local environment. Volunteers are especially required for monitoring the riverine floodplains of Lindsay Island, Wallpolla Island and Belsar Island, the ephemeral freshwater lakes of Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and saline lakes of Pink Lakes and Lake Tyrrell. Waterwatch is also interested in volunteers wanting to test the water quality of dams and tile drains. No water? No worries! Volunteers can also be trained to use water monitoring equipment in the event of future natural flow events. This is your chance to become involved in local water quality issues and to contribute to salinity management in the Murray-Darling Basin. You can actively contribute to the long-term health of your catchment. For more information or to register your interest please contact the Mallee CMA Waterwatch Officers, Rachael Slorach on (03) 5051 4670 or David Scammell on (03) 5051 4374. Multiple
populations of threatened frog species found
Regional Waterwatch coordinator Leigh Mitchell said one of the more exciting finds of surveys conducted this year were the small and secretive Bibrons or Brown Toadlet. “We discovered this elusive toadlet in small soaks and drainage lines at One Tree Hill, close to Bendigo as part of our community Frog Monitoring Program,” said Leigh. “This strange little creature is listed as a threatened species in Victoria after having disappeared from much of its original range. Not actually a toad, the toadlet, has been given this common name due to its superficial toad-like appearance, its tendency to walk instead hopping and its small size”. North Central Waterwatch and Parks Victoria staff having been conducting Bibrons Toadlet surveys in a number of proposed burn units identified to be included as part of Department of Sustainability and Environment’s fuel reduction program. “To find this and many other populations of toadlets in and around the Greater Bendigo National Park is a real demonstration of the role the Parks System plays in the conservation of species such as the Bibrons Toadlet,” said Leigh. For more information on the Bibrons Toadlet, please contact Leigh Mitchell on 5440 1829. Ends
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