Environmental Water Management Plan for the Murray River at the Lock 15 Weir Pool
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Environmental Water Management Plan for the River Murray at the Lock 15 Weir Pool Environmental Water Management Plan for the Murray River at the Lock 15 Weir Pool Environmental Water Management Plan for the River Murray at the Lock 15 Weir Pool DOCUMENT CONTROL Revision and Distribution Version no. Description Issued to Issue date Environmental Water Management 1 Plan for the Murray River from Lock 6 Jane White 9 January 2015 to Lock 10 - System Characterisation Environmental Water Management 2 Plan for the Murray River at the Lock 15 Jane White 19 March 2015 Weir - System Characterisation Citation Ecological Associates (2015). Environmental Water Management Plan for the Murray River at the Lock 15 Weir Pool - System Characterisation. Ecological Associates report AL043-2-B prepared for Mallee Catchment Management Authority, Irymple. Contact For queries regarding this document, please contact: Louise Chapman [email protected] Waterways Coordinator Mallee Catchment Management Authority This publication may be of assistance to you but the Mallee Catchment Management Authority and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purpose and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Environmental Water Management Plan for the River Murray at the Lock 15 Weir Pool EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 2 2 SITE OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 SITE LOCATION ............................................................................................................................................ 3 2.2 CATCHMENT SETTING ................................................................................................................................... 3 2.3 LAND STATUS AND MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................. 5 2.4 STAKEHOLDERS FOR THE LOCK 15 EWMP ........................................................................................................ 5 2.5 WETLAND CHARACTERISTICS - FLOODPLAIN MORPHOLOGY AND HYDRAULICS ......................................................... 6 2.6 MANAGEMENT SCALE ................................................................................................................................. 14 2.7 ENVIRONMENTAL WATER SOURCES ............................................................................................................... 14 2.8 RELATED AGREEMENTS, POLICY, PLANS AND ACTIVITIES .................................................................................... 15 3 HYDROLOGY AND SYSTEM OPERATIONS ................................................................................................ 17 3.1 HYDROLOGY OF THE MURRAY RIVER.............................................................................................................. 17 3.2 GROUNDWATER ........................................................................................................................................ 18 3.3 HYDROLOGICAL IMPACTS OF THE WEIR .......................................................................................................... 20 3.4 ENVIRONMENTAL WATERING ....................................................................................................................... 23 4 WATER DEPENDENT VALUES .................................................................................................................. 24 4.1 LISTED FLORA ............................................................................................................................................ 24 4.2 VEGETATION COMMUNITIES ........................................................................................................................ 27 4.3 LISTED FAUNA ........................................................................................................................................... 28 4.4 SOCIAL VALUES ......................................................................................................................................... 35 5 ECOLOGICAL CONDITION AND THREATS ................................................................................................ 37 5.1 CURRENT CONDITION ................................................................................................................................. 37 5.2 CONDITION TRAJECTORY ............................................................................................................................. 42 5.3 WATER RELATED THREATS........................................................................................................................... 43 6 ECOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES AND HYDROLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS ........................................................... 44 6.1 MANAGEMENT GOAL ................................................................................................................................. 44 6.2 ECOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................. 44 6.3 WATERCOURSES ........................................................................................................................................ 44 6.4 SEMI-PERMANENT WETLANDS ..................................................................................................................... 46 6.5 SEASONAL WETLANDS ................................................................................................................................ 48 6.6 RIVER RED GUM FOREST AND WOODLAND ..................................................................................................... 49 6.7 LIGNUM SHRUBLAND AND WOODLAND.......................................................................................................... 51 6.8 BLACK BOX WOODLAND ............................................................................................................................. 52 7 HYDROLOGICAL OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................. 55 7.1 SUMMARY OF HYDROLOGICAL OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................... 55 7.2 WEIR MANIPULATION ................................................................................................................................ 56 7.3 ENHANCED RIVER FLOWS ............................................................................................................................ 59 7.4 PROMOTION OF FAST-FLOWING HABITAT ....................................................................................................... 59 8 ENVIRONMENTAL WATER DELIVERY INFRASTRUCTURE ......................................................................... 60 8.1 RIVER SYSTEM MANAGEMENT - STORAGES ..................................................................................................... 60 Environmental Water Management Plan for the River Murray at the Lock 15 Weir Pool 8.2 WEIR OPERATIONS .................................................................................................................................... 61 9 MANAGING RISKS TO ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................... 64 9.1 RISKS AND CONSTRAINTS ASSOCIATED WITH WEIR MANIPULATION ..................................................................... 64 9.2 SUMMARY OF WEIR OPERATING CONSTRAINTS ................................................................................................. 68 9.3 ACID SULFATE SOILS ................................................................................................................................... 69 10 CONSULTATION .................................................................................................................................. 70 11 DEMONSTRATING OUTCOMES ........................................................................................................... 72 11.1 MONITORING............................................................................................................................................ 72 11.2 RECENT MONITORING RESULTS .................................................................................................................... 72 12 KNOWLEDGE GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 74 13 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................... 75 APPENDIX 1 - ECOLOGICAL VEGETATION CLASSES (EVCS) .............................................................................. 78 APPENDIX 2 - CULTURAL HERITAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN .............................................................................. 81 MANAGEMENT OF ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUND DURING THE ACTIVITY ..........................................................