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Managing the River Murray Brochure MDBC 8340 reprint 23/12 12/2/04 12:38 PM Page 1 Managing the River Murray Managing the River Murray Managing the River Murray Environmental challenges: The Basin is a shared resource crossing many jurisdictions. No single government or community has the capacity to meet the environmental challenges of the Basin by themselves. However, coordinated and integrated action Managing at every level will go a long way to ensuring a to improve its environment, while enhancing the social and A range of possible initiatives will be evaluated over the River Murray Water convenes an advisory committee which sustainable future. the River Murray includes representatives of local government, catchment economic benefits obtained from water use. An extensive entire river system including: bodies, government land and water management agencies program investigating the environmental flows required to • minimising thermal impacts of large storages; and riparian landowners. The Committee is developing a achieve this objective began in 2002. • re-snagging to enhance fish habitat; long-term strategy for sustainable and equitable balance In April 2002, the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council between the competing demands on the river and its • management of unseasonal flooding of the Barmah-Millewa acknowledged the need for a program of structural and forest; environs. River Murray Water is investing in works to reduce operational measures costing $150 million over seven years. erosion in the main channel and the development of eroding • lowering weir pools to improve their health; The program aims to ensure that the best possible anabranches along this reach. • raising weir pools to enhance connectivity with the flood environmental outcomes are achieved with the water that is plain; available for environmental purposes. • surcharging small flood events to make them closer to natural; Fish passage • improving wetting and drying regimes in wetlands; There are 35 species of native fish in the Murray-Darling river • installing fishways at weirs and locks and barrages; and system. Changes in river flow, physical barriers to movement • introducing more flexible operation of barrages to enhance (such as dams and weirs), decline in water quality, removal the health of the Murray mouth. of habitat, overfishing, and the introduction of exotic fish CRC for Freshwater Ecology The selection of works to be implemented will be based on (such as carp) and diseases have made it more difficult for The Murray Flood – Barmah Forest those initiatives offering the best environmental outcomes for native species to survive. the investment involved. River Murray Water operates a number of works to help Environmental flows migratory fish overcome the barriers created by river Australians value water for environmental, social, regulation. “Fish lifts” and “fishways” help the fish move Historically, flows in the River Murray were unpredictable, cultural, aesthetic and economic reasons. They use it for through weir structures. though there were seasonal patterns. High flows occurred irrigation, consumption, recreation, commercial fishing and environmental benefits. The weirs, locks and other artificial barriers to native fish are still more in spring and early summer while low flows were required for navigation and water supply. The structures were typical in autumn and winter. designed and built in a time when there was insufficient scientific The River Murray system supplies water to New South With irrigation development came the need to deliver more knowledge to support the inclusion of fishways. This knowledge N Wales, Victoria and South Australia and has a powerful water during summer and autumn. This change in seasonal is now available within Australia and overseas and is being influence on the economic, environmental and social flow patterns and the reduced frequency of floods has incorporated into the MDBC Fish Passage Program which has the well-being of more than two million people in those States. damaged the health of the River Murray and its environs objective of providing continuous passage from the sea to Hume and is of serious concern. The River Murray System Dam. All River Murray weirs will have fishways installed over the The system is the southern part of the Murray-Darling next decade, to provide migratory fish passage. Following a water use audit, a moratorium on water Printed material in the Murray-Darling Basin Initiative Basin covering more than a million square kilometres of diversions (known as the “Cap”) from the rivers of the Series addresses the following themes and subjects: inland south-eastern Australia and includes much of the Murray-Darling Basin was introduced in 1995. The Cap aims country’s best irrigation, farming and grazing lands. to stop the declining sustainability of water resources and to • The Murray-Darling Basin Initiative balance competing industry and community demands. River • Environmental challenges in the Basin The River Murray system includes: Murray Water works within the Cap guidelines. • Managing the River Murray • the main course of the River Murray and all its effluents • Community partnership and the Initiative (streams flowing out of the river) and anabranches Water storage too has led to a decline in water quality. In (streams which leave the river and re-join it further on); summer, water at temperatures of about 10 degrees Celsius is • Planning for sustainability released from Dartmouth Dam into the Mitta Mitta River when • MDBC strategies • tributaries entering the River Murray upstream of Albury; natural temperatures would have been about 16-20 degrees. • Major Commission projects • the Darling River from the Menindee Storage to the NMENTS WO Murray; ER RK Few native plant and animal species have evolved to cope OV IN G G • Knowledge generation projects X I IN S • all the dams, weirs and other Murray-Darling Basin with such unseasonally cold temperatures. Thermal impacts P A Y R T also exist downstream of Hume Dam, but to a lesser extent. Snowy T I Commission constructions; and N N For further information on the Murray–Darling Basin Initiative please contact E U RS M Mountains HIP OM • the Menindee Lakes storage, which the NSW WITH THE C The Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council recognises both Scheme The Murray-Darling Basin Commission Government has leased to the Murray-Darling Basin the complexity of the environmental flows issue and the need GPO Box 409 Canberra ACT 2601 Commission in perpetuity. for certainty in the communities relying on irrigated Telephone: (02) 6279 0100 Facsimile: (02) 6248 8053 agriculture from the River Murray. Its strong desire is to Email: [email protected] Website: www.mdbc.gov.au manage the resources of the River Murray and its tributaries John Baker Our values: courage; inclusiveness; commitment; respect & honesty; flexibility; Fish Ladder - River Murray Tatnell Photo: Hume Dam, Andrew I&D MDBC 8340 © MDBC 2002 Cover The River Murray System practicability and mutual obligation. Recycled Paper: Printed on Monza Satin Recycled, a new generation premium A2+ gloss coated recycled paper with a soft non-glare finish. It is produced with 50% recycled fibre (15% post consumer and 35% pre-consumer) with the balance (50%) being oxygen bleached virgin pulp. MDBC 8340 reprint 23/12 12/2/04 12:38 PM Page 2 Managing the River Murray Managing the River Murray Managing the River Murray Managing the River Murray the State authorities located at the various structures from tributary flows or flood releases from storages, or a fishways will be built as part of a program to of the Snowy River flow and also to provide dedicated While river operators try to minimise the destructive Darling system itself, which reflect the shared responsibility for of the required rates of release for that day. During combination of these. Spill mode is used when there is establish fish passage from “the sea to Hume Dam” environmental flows to the River Murray. impact of floods, it is now recognised that floods are action both between valley communities and between States. From the outset, the unit distinguished service delivery from floods, flows may be adjusted every few hours. limited space left in the storages and inflow rates are high. (a distance of 2225 km). essential to the health of the river. They push water into A major initiative coordinated by River Murray Water is the the Commission’s regulatory and resource management the wetlands on the floodplain and improve the health For more than 50 years, to promote pride and construction and management of a series of Salt Interception policy making functions and achieved revised cost sharing Operational decisions take in a range of technical Maintaining safe structures and bio-diversity of the river corridor. As a result, there efficiency, the Commission has awarded the Senator Schemes. These schemes usually involve large scale between governments for services, thus eliminating cross- considerations such as flow requirements, salt and Balancing conflicting values are now occasions (after consultation with regional Collings Trophy to the lockmaster and his team groundwater pumping and drainage projects that intercept subsidies, promoting efficiencies and protecting its business water level changes, estimated evaporation, To regulate the river system, River Murray Water operates a communities) when River Murray Water boosts natural judged to be looking after the best maintained lock Australians value water for irrigation, recreation, saline water flows and
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