The Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site Environmental Management Plan 2006–2007
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Icon Site Environmental Management Plan 2006–2007 Published by Murray-Darling Basin Commission Postal Address GPO Box 409, Canberra ACT 2601 Office location Level 5, 15 Moore Street, Canberra City Australian Capital Territory Telephone (02) 6279 0100 international + 61 2 6279 0100 Facsimile (02) 6248 8053 international + 61 2 6248 8053 E-Mail [email protected] Internet http://www.mdbc.gov.au For further information contact the Murray-Darling Basin Commission office on (02) 6279 0100 This report may be cited as: The Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site Environmental Management Plan 2006–2007 The Ngarrindjeri Nation is acknowledged as the traditional owner of the country that includes the Lakes, Kurangk (Coorong) and Murray Mouth. This document is to be read in conjunction with the Ngarrindjeri Nation Yarluwar- Ruwe (SEA Country) Plan, the Ramsar Management Plan and the Ecological Character Description Report. MDBC Publication No. 34/06 ISBN 1 921257 00 8 © Copyright Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2006 This work is copyright. Graphical and textual information in the work (with the exception of photographs and the MDBC logo) may be stored, retrieved and reproduced in whole or in part, provided the information is not sold or used for commercial benefit and its source The Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site Environmental Management Plan 2006–2007 is acknowledged. Such reproduction includes fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction for other purposes is prohibited without prior permission of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission or the individual photographers and artists with whom copyright applies. To the extent permitted by law, the copyright holders (including its employees and consultants) exclude all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this report (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................... III 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................1 1.1 THE LIVING MURRAY: AN IMPETUS FOR CHANGE......................................................................... 1 1.2 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT ............................................................................................................ 4 2. BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................. 7 2.1 LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................................... 7 2.2 VALUES OF THE ICON SITE ........................................................................................................ 8 2.3 CURRENT WATER MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE ICON SITE ............................................................ 16 3. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION ..................................................................................................... 18 3.1 PROCESSES DRIVING ICON SITE ECOLOGY ............................................................................... 18 3.2 ECOLOGICAL STATUS .............................................................................................................. 29 3.3 KEY THREATS ......................................................................................................................... 34 4. ECOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS............................................................................... 41 4.1 LIVING MURRAY OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................... 41 4.2 INTERIM TARGETS ................................................................................................................... 41 4.3 FLOW REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ICON SITE ............................................................................... 42 4.4 CONCEPTUAL MODELS FOR MANAGING SPECIES ....................................................................... 53 4.5 FLOW REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ICON SITE................................................................................ 53 5. ACHIEVING THE TARGETS ........................................................................................................... 55 5.1 DELIVERING WATER TO THE ICON SITE ..................................................................................... 55 5.2 MANAGING WATER WITHIN THE ICON SITE................................................................................. 61 5.3 COMPLEMENTARY MANAGEMENT ACTIONS................................................................................ 78 5.4 PRIORITISING COMPETING MANAGEMENT ACTIONS .................................................................... 85 6. NEXT STEPS ................................................................................................................................... 90 6.1 CONSULTATION ……………………………………………………………………………………..90 6.2 IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE: FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ................................................................ 92 6.3 MONITORING .......................................................................................................................... 93 6.4 ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................... 104 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 106 ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................................................................... 112 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................. 113 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 116 Appendix A: Living Murray Business Plan: Arrangements for sourcing and applying water................................................................................................................ 117 Appendix B: Relationship to existing strategies and legislation .................................... 118 Appendix C: Roles and responsibilities for managing the Icon site............................... 123 Appendix D: Budgets for works and measures and further development and implementation of the ISEMP ........................................................................................ 126 Appendix E: Bird populations in the Coorong and Lower Lakes, 2001-2004................ 127 Appendix F: Fish species found at the Icon site............................................................ 129 Appendix G: Salinity definitions ……………………………………………………………..131 Appendix H: Macroinvertebrates of the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth ..... 133 Appendix I: Target areas map ....................................................................................... 134 Appendix J: A review of hydrological indicators for the Murray Mouth, Coorong and Lower Lakes Icon Site ................................................................................................... 135 Appendix K: Summary of monitoring in the Lower Lakes and Coorong…………….....166 Appendix L: Conceptual models..................................................................................... 168 Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site Environmental Management Plan 2006-07 i List of figures Figure 1.1 Location of the six Icon Sites in the Murray-Darling Basin................................................. 2 Figure 1.2 Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site.......................................................... 3 Figure 1.3 The Coorong showing three regions defined by salinity regime ........................................ 6 Figure 2.1 Wetland/fringing vegetation around the Lower Lakes and Coorong.................................. 12 Figure 2.2 Ngarrindjeri country ........................................................................................................... 13 Figure 2.3 Catch of high volume species, Lakes and Coorong fishery 1992/93 - 2002/03................ 15 Figure 3.1 Drivers, levers, components and processes for the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon site................................................................................................................. 18 Figure 3.2 Conceptual model for the Lower Lakes.............................................................................. 23 Figure 3.3 Conceptual model for the Coorong ................................................................................... 25 Figure 3.4 Upper South East Drainage Scheme ................................................................................. 27 Figure 3.5 Median monthly flows over the barrages under natural and current conditions ............... 35 Figure 3.6 Comparing daily water levels (in Lake Alexandrina) at Milang under natural and current conditions ..................................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 4.1 Current hydrograph for the Lower Lakes ..........................................................................