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Final Estuary Flows Report

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Final Estuary Flows Report Environmental Water Requirements of the Werribee River Estuary Final Estuary FLOWs Report by: Dr Jeremy Hindell, ARI (DSE); A. Prof John Sherwood & Dr Adam Pope, Deakin University; John Leonard Consulting Services; Dr Phillip Macumber Consulting Services; and, Danny Rogers, Waterbird Specialist FINAL DRAFT 12 November 2008 Blank Page Draft Werribee River Estuary FLOWS Report ...3 ENVIRONMENTAL WATER REQUIREMENTS OF THE WERRIBEE RIVER ESTUARY: - FINAL ESTUARY FLOWS REPORT for Corangamite Catchment Management Authority by Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd Please cite as follows: Lloyd, L.N., Anderson, B.G., Cooling, M., Gippel, C.J., Pope, A.J. and Sherwood, J.E. 2008. Environmental Water Requirements of the Werribee River Estuary: Final Estuary FLOWs Report. Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd Report to Corangamite CMA, Colac, Victoria, Australia. Document history and status Revision Date issued Reviewed by Approved by Date approved Revision type A 15 June 2008 Team L. Lloyd 15 June 2008 Draft B 14 Oct 2008 L. Lloyd C. Gippel 14 October 2008 Draft C 12 Nov 2008 M. Cooling L. Lloyd 12 Nov 2008 Final Draft Distribution of copies Revision Copy no Quantity Issued to A 1 1 Team B 1 1 Team C 1 1 S. Wilkie Printed: Not printed Last saved: 12 Nov 2008 File location: Z:\Documents\LE Projects\0717 Estuaries Method Stage 2\Werribee_Final Recommendations_Paper_150608.doc Author: Lance Lloyd, Brett Anderson, Marcus Cooling, Chris Gippel, Adam Pope and John Sherwood Project manager: Lance Lloyd Name of Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd, PO Box 3014, Syndal, Vic. 3149, organisation: [email protected] Name of project: Environmental water requirements of Victorian estuaries- Stage 2- Pilot trials of a draft method for two Victorian estuaries Name of Final Estuary FLOWs Report document: Document C/ Final Draft version: Z:\Documents\LE Projects\0717 Estuaries Method Stage 2\LE0716 Final Draft Werribee Flow Reccs 121108.doc Draft Werribee River Estuary FLOWS Report ...4 Disclaimer Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd (and associated consulting groups) prepared this report for the use of Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and any other parties that may rely on the report in accordance with the usual care and thoroughness of the consulting profession. It is based on generally accepted practices and standards at the time it was prepared. No other warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the professional advice included in this report. It is prepared in accordance with the scope of work and for the purpose outlined in the Proposal. Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd does not warrant this document is definitive nor free from error and does not accept liability for any loss caused, or arising from, reliance upon the information provided herein. The methodology adopted and sources of information used by Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd are provided in this report. Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd has made no independent verification of this information beyond the agreed scope of works and Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions. No indications were found during our investigations that information contained in this report as provided to Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd was false. This report is based on the conditions encountered and information reviewed at the time of collection of data and report preparation (February 2007 to November 2008). Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd disclaims responsibility for any changes that may have occurred after this time. This report should be read in full. No responsibility is accepted for use of any part of this report in any other context or for any other purpose or by third parties. This report does not purport to give legal advice. Legal advice can only be given by qualified legal practitioners. Copyright The concepts and information contained in this document are the copyright of Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd, associated consulting groups and Corangamite Catchment Management Authority. Use or copying of this document in whole or in part without written permission of Lloyd Environmental Pty Ltd or Corangamite Catchment Management Authority constitutes an infringement of copyright. Z:\Documents\LE Projects\0717 Estuaries Method Stage 2\LE0716 Final Draft Werribee Flow Reccs 121108.doc Draft Werribee River Estuary FLOWS Report ...5 Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 THE WERRIBEE RIVER ESTUARY FLOWS PROJECT ................................................................................. 7 1.2 PROJECT OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................................. 8 1.3 THE PILOT METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 THE SCIENTIFIC PANEL ............................................................................................................................. 10 1.5 OBJECTIVES OF FINAL ESTUARY FLOWS REPORT ................................................................................... 12 2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................ 13 2.1 FLOW COMPONENTS .................................................................................................................................. 13 2.1 WORKSHOP AND FINAL FLOW RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................. 14 2.2 HYDRAULIC ANALYSIS METHOD ............................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Investigations with the Tide Model ......................................................................................................... 15 2.2.2 Investigations with the Flood Model ...................................................................................................... 16 2.3 HYDROLOGICAL ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................ 18 2.3.1 Statistical description ............................................................................................................................. 18 2.3.2 Compliance ............................................................................................................................................. 19 2.1 FLOW-ECOLOGY RELATIONSHIPS .............................................................................................................. 20 2.1.1 Vegetation ............................................................................................................................................... 20 2.1.2 Fish ......................................................................................................................................................... 24 3 FLOW RELATIONSHIPS AND CONCEPTUAL MODELS ....................................................................... 27 3.1 GEOMORPHIC FLOW OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................. 27 3.2 VEGETATION ............................................................................................................................................... 30 3.2.1 Representative Objective - Coastal Saltmarsh EVC 9 ............................................................................ 30 3.2.2 Representative Objective - Estuarine Wetland EVC 010 ........................................................................ 32 3.2.3 Representative Objective – Floodplain Riparian Woodland EVC 056 ................................................... 32 3.2.4 Representative Objective – Sea-grass Meadow EVC 845 ...................................................................... 33 3.3 FISH AND AQUATIC FAUNA ....................................................................................................................... 39 3.3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 39 3.3.2 Fish Conservation Values of the Estuary ............................................................................................... 41 3.3.3 Biology and distribution of fish .............................................................................................................. 41 3.3.4 Representative Objective – Black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) – Estuarine Resident .................... 43 3.3.5 Representative Objective – King George whiting (Sillaginodes punctata) – Estuarine Dependent (Marine Derived) ................................................................................................................................................. 45 3.3.6 Representative Objective – Common Jollytail (Galaxias maculatus) - Estuarine Dependent (Freshwater Derived) ............................................................................................................................................................... 46 3.4 SUMMARY OF HYDRAULIC ANALYSES ....................................................................................................... 51 3.4.1 Tide Model Results ................................................................................................................................. 51 3.4.2 Flood Model
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