River Condition Index in New South Wales
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River Condition Index in New South Wales Method development and application www.water.nsw.gov.au Publisher NSW Department of Primary Industries, a division of NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services. River Condition Index in New South Wales: method development and application First published August 2012 ISBN 978 1 74256 317 6 Report to be cited as: Healey, M., Raine, A., Parsons, L., and Cook, N. (2012) River Condition Index in New South Wales: Method development and application. NSW Office of Water, Sydney. © State of New South Wales through Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services 2012. This publication is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in an unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal use or for non-commercial use within your organisation. To copy, adapt, publish, distribute or commercialise any of this publication you will need to seek permission from the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services. Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (July 2012). However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information on which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the appropriate officer of the Department of Primary Industries or the user’s independent advisor. Publication number 12_223 River Condition Index in New South Wales: method development and application Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................1 1. Introduction..........................................................................................................................................2 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................2 1.2 The need for a spatially expressed state-wide investment and reporting tool in NSW..............2 1.2.1 Water sharing plans ......................................................................................................2 1.2.2 NSW statewide natural resource management targets and the NSW monitoring evaluation and reporting strategy.................................................................................4 1.2.3 Updating catchment action plans..................................................................................5 1.2.4 The need to better align natural resource management plans.....................................5 1.2.5 Meeting national commitments .....................................................................................6 1.2.5.1 The National Water Initiative ............................................................................6 1.2.5.2 Murray Darling Basin Plan ...............................................................................6 1.2.5.3 National compliance and enforcement framework...........................................7 1.3 Review of other river condition reporting tools...........................................................................8 1.5 Aim of this report ......................................................................................................................10 2. Method development.........................................................................................................................10 2.1 Derivation of management units ..............................................................................................11 2.2 The River Condition Index ...................................................................................................12 2.2.1 Data sets and methods ..............................................................................................13 2.2.1.1 River Styles® Geomorphic Condition assessment – surrogate input under FARWH “Physical Form” category (RSGC). .................................................13 2.2.1.2 Riparian vegetation cover assessment (native woody vegetation) – surrogate input under FARWH “Fringing Zone” category (RVC)..................................14 2.2.1.3 Macro water planning: hydrologic stress or risk rating – surrogate input under FARWH “Hydrological Change” category. ....................................................17 Distributed hydrologic stress assessment ...........................................................................19 Macro water sharing plan hydrologic stress layer................................................................20 Sustainable Rivers Audit (SRA) Hydrology Condition Index ...............................................21 2.2.1.4 River biodiversity condition data – surrogate input under FARWH “Aquatic Biota” category (RBCI).............................................................................................22 Aquatic Biodiversity Forecaster Tool analysis .....................................................................23 Sustainable Rivers Audit Fish and Macroinvertebrate Condition Indices ..................24 2.2.1.5 Catchment Disturbance Index – surrogate input under FARWH “Catchment Disturbance” category (CDI)......................................................24 Infrastructure Index (I)................................................................................................24 Land Use Index (LU) ..................................................................................................25 Land Cover Change Index (LCC)...............................................................................26 Catchment Disturbance Index (CDI) ..........................................................................27 2.2.3 River Condition Index (RCI) score .............................................................................27 2.2.3.1 Bands of Condition.........................................................................................28 iii | NSW Office of Water, August 2012 River Condition Index in New South Wales: method development and application 2.2.3.2 Spatial representation ....................................................................................28 2.2.4 Assumptions...............................................................................................................29 Aggregation of Aquatic Biodiversity Forecaster Tool outputs into larger catchment units .......................................................................................................................30 Linking geomorphic condition to aquatic biodiversity.................................................30 Relationship of riparian vegetation extent to condition ..............................................30 Extrapolation of site assessments..............................................................................30 2.3 River value assessment.......................................................................................................30 2.3.1 Method associated with using the conservation priority outputs of the Aquatic Biodiversity Forecaster Tool.......................................................................................33 2.3.2 Method to associate threatened species with River Styles® .....................................33 2.3.3 Macro water sharing plan Instream Value Assessment.............................................35 2.3.4 River Styles® Assessment.........................................................................................36 2.3.5 Key basin assets ........................................................................................................36 2.3.5.1 MDBA key environmental assets ..................................................................37 2.3.5.2 DPI key fish assets........................................................................................38 2.3.6 Additional CMA data...................................................................................................38 2.3.6.1 Refugia data ..................................................................................................38 Western and Lower Murray Darling CMA ..................................................................38 2.3.6.2 High Conservation Value (HCV) vegetation..................................................39 Border Rivers-Gwydir CMA........................................................................................39 2.3.6.3 Community data ............................................................................................40 2.3.3 Method for calculating final instream value scores .......................................40 2.4 River risk assessment..........................................................................................................41 2.4.1 Risk of physical disturbance to instream values ........................................................43 2.4.1.1 Likelihood ......................................................................................................43 2.4.1.2 Consequence ................................................................................................50 2.4.1.3 Raw risk of physical disturbance to instream value score............................51 2.4.2 Risk of extraction to instream values .........................................................................51 2.4.2.1 Likelihood: .....................................................................................................51