Maribyrnongmaribyrnong Working Together for Healthy Waterways Catchment Works Program to Support the Draft Healthy Waterways Strategy
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MaribyrnongMaribyrnong Working together for healthy waterways Catchment Works Program to support the draft Healthy Waterways Strategy Version published on 20/06/2018 Acknowledgement of Country Contents The communities, stakeholders and Melbourne Water, who Overview 2 together are responsible for implementing the Healthy Waterways Strategy, acknowledge and respect Wurundjeri and other Maribrynong: Co-designing our future 4 Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Victorians. We recognise the Program logic 6 diversity of their cultures and the deep connections they have with the land and water of the Maribyrnong catchment. Cultural and economic values 8 We value partnerships with them for the health of people Waterway values 9 and country. Waterway Targets and Performance Objectives 10 The communities, stakeholders and Melbourne Water, who together are responsible for implementing the Healthy Waterways Sub-catchment programs 12 Strategy, pay their respects to Elders past and present, and we Rivers and Creeks 12 acknowledge and recognise the primacy of Wurundjeri and other Wetlands 34 Traditional Owners’ obligations, rights and responsibilities to use Estuaries 46 and care for their traditional lands and waters. Metrics 54 Getting involved 59 Our partners 60 Have your say There are a number of ways you can have your say on this draft Strategy. Maribyrnong Online Catchment yoursay.melbournewater.com.au/healthy-waterways Email [email protected] Phone 131 722 For translating and interpreting services call 131 450. Teletypewriter (TTY) users can phone 133 677. You are invited to participate in finalisation of the Strategy A shared Strategy by commenting on the draft Strategy and committing to its implementation. To find out how, visit: Our rivers, creeks, wetlands and estuaries are shared places of yoursay.melbournewater.com.au/healthy-waterways enormous significance for Aboriginal culture, social gathering, the environment and economic productivity. Catchment Works Program The community, stakeholders and scientists are telling us our The Catchment Works Program supports the region-wide Strategy region’s waterways are at a tipping point. Continue as we are and by providing a flexible framework for managing waterways we risk further decline in waterway condition across the region, in the Maribyrnong Catchment that takes into account variable threatening the significant economic, social, cultural and climatic and development conditions and changing community environmental values our waterways provide. needs. It includes: Working collectively toward prioritised objectives and targets • An overview of the values in the catchment including challenges offers everyone a way to not only stem the decline but also unlock and opportunities the significant natural capital our waterways offer. • A vision, goals and long-term targets (10–50 years) for the The draft Healthy Waterways Strategy was developed using catchment a process of co-design to develop a shared Strategy. By bringing • Long-term targets (10–50 years) for waterway values and together professional expertise with the lived experience of waterways conditions supported by 10 year performance landholders, community groups, developers, Traditional Owners objectives for 10 sub-catchments, five representative wetlands and other stakeholders, it aims to support collaborative and three estuaries in the region. waterways management. What are waterways? Throughout this Strategy the term waterway refers collectively to rivers and creeks, wetlands and estuaries Maribyrnong - Healthy Waterways Strategy 01 If current policy and levels of investment are maintained without Overview improvement, then it is likely that the Maribyrnong catchment will experience declines in environmental and social values over The Maribyrnong catchment covers an area of around 1408 the next 30 years. There is a real need to take action to avoid square kilometres. About 10 per cent of the catchment retains an otherwise inevitable decline in waterway health. its natural vegetation, 80 per cent is used for agriculture and 10 per cent is used for urban development – confined to greater Opportunities Melbourne and larger townships. With collective action, many of the region’s significant The catchment includes the 160-kilometre long Maribyrnong environmental values can be maintained or improved. For River – the second major river in the Port Phillip and Westernport example, managing stormwater in growth areas will support Region – which begins on the southern slopes of the Great Dividing platypus and macroinvertebrates (waterbugs). Range, near Lancefield. Fish values can be supported through removal of fish barriers and Challenges increasing the water available for the environment. Supporting Climate modelling shows the catchment is becoming hotter and the extent and quality of streamside vegetation will support bird drier, facing more periods of extreme heat and drought, reductions values. For the catchment’s wetlands, improvements to wetland in annual rainfall and increases in intense rainfall events. Population water regimes and habitat can support frogs and other modelling shows that the catchment will likely grow and undergo environmental values. transformations rivalling the changes driven by the gold rush and Wurundjeri and other Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Victorians post-war booms, adding 10,000 new dwellings per year. place cultural importance on the Maribyrnong’s waterways. A drier climate in an increasingly paved landscape poses a very This draft Strategy needs their involvement to share those values real threat to the long-term values of the Maribyrnong’s rivers and and help with collective decision and actions to conserve them. creeks, wetlands and estuaries while at the same time increasing There is also great opportunity to manage waterway corridors the importance of those spaces as a green and cool respite from as places for communities to connect, recreate and travel. the urban landscape. As the waterway manager for the region, Melbourne Water is Many wetlands are encroached by urban development reducing ready to implement its share of this Strategy. However, action the wetland area and losing the protection of a buffer of native by Melbourne Water alone is not sufficient to unlock the full vegetation. Groundwater-fed wetlands in this catchment are value of the region’s waterways. If this Strategy is to be effective it predicted to be most likely impacted by climate change. needs collective action; from State policy agencies, State regulators, local government and other land managers such as Parks Victoria. Predicted sea level rise will impact the future condition of the Even more so, it needs collective action by the development region’s estuaries and the values that they can support. Without sector, landholders, Traditional Owners and community groups. planning for landward migration of estuarine vegetation, existing ecological values may be lost due to an increasingly saline Working together we can realise the full value of the region’s environment. waterways – economic, cultural, social and environmental. 02 SUB-CATCHMENTS 1 Maribyrnong River 6 Jacksons Creek 2 Stony Creek 7 Emu Creek 3 Steele Creek 8 Deep Creek Upper 4 Taylors Creek 9 Deep Creek Lower Lancefield 5 Moonee Ponds Creek 10 Boyd Creek Newham 8 Romsey Springfield 10 Sub-catchment boundaries Wetlands Darraweit Guim Rivers and Creeks Macedon 7 Parks and reserves 9 1 6 Riddels Creek Gisborne Organ Pipes National Park Wildwood The park is a cultural value as a site Sunbury of historical and archaeological significance. You can also enjoy a picnic and a walk to see the unique rock forms and the re-established native plants. Greenvale Bulla 2 RIVERS - Brimbank Park, Maribyrnong River 5 3 Native fish species are benefitting from this fishway to assist 4 their passage through the river and 3 encourage effective spawning. Niddrie 5 WETLANDS - Pipemakers Park 4 1 Sunshine The wetlands provide environmental 3 and social value with its extensive 2 2 native trees, ponds and connecting 1 paths to explore. WETLANDS ESTUARIES ESTUARY - Stony Creek Park Backwash and Stony Creek 1 Gisborne Marshlands 1 Stony Creek Estuary The estuary has been highly modified 2 Greenvale Res Park Wetlands 2 Maribyrnong River Estuary with bank stabilisation to prevent 3 Jacana Wetlands 3 Moonee Ponds Creek flooding and erosion. It was a bluestone 4 Pipemakers Park Wetlands Estuary quarry and now supports patches 5 Queens Park Wetlands of mangrove and saltmarsh. Maribyrnong - Healthy Waterways Strategy 03 Maribyrnong: Collaboration process Co-designing our future One of Melbourne Water’s responsibilities is to create long-term April 2017 - Maribyrnong catchment plans that ensure the Maribyrnong catchment’s waterways are collaboration commenced healthy, liveable and accessible for future generations. Collaborative process December 2017 In April 2017, the Maribyrnong Catchment Collaboration Vision, goals and waterways values defined commenced the process to identify and develop the refreshed Healthy Waterways Strategy for the Maribyrnong catchment. The collaboration was made up of interested community members, organisations and agencies to: March 2018 Preliminary Targets released • Develop a vision and goals for their catchment • Explore issues, opportunities and aspirations within the catchment • Identify where stakeholders need to focus their efforts and energy. March 2018 In developing this draft Strategy, six workshops were held with Engagement