Asset Environmental Management Plan for 2005/2006
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Asset Environmental Management Plan for 2005/2006 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 River Murray Channel Asset Environmental Management Plan 2005/2006 MDBC Publication No. 30/05 ISBN 1 921038 61 6 © Copyright Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2005 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 River Murray Channel Asset Environmental Management Plan 2005/2006 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. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms iii List of Figures and Tables iv Executive Summary v PART A – STRATEGIC CONTEXT 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose of Plan 1 1.2 Relationship to other relevant plans and initiatives 2 1.3 Management arrangements 5 2 Vision, ecological objectives and outcomes 5 2.1 Vision 5 2.2 Ecological objectives 5 2.3 Ecological outcomes 6 3 Description of Asset 6 3.1 Physical setting 6 3.2 Geographic extent of the River Murray Channel Asset 7 3.3 Hydrology 11 3.4 Conceptual model 14 3.5 Asset values 14 3.6 Processes that threaten the environmental health of the Asset 16 3.7 Current environmental condition 18 4 River Murray system operation 22 4.1 Roles and responsibilities 22 4.2 River operations 23 4.3 Current operating procedures to protect specific environmental values 26 4.4 Environmental water allocations and accounting procedures 26 5 Environmental management actions 29 5.1 Introduction 29 5.2 System-wide (native fish) 29 5.3 River reach by reach 30 6 Environmental flow achievements 32 7 Consultation 33 7.1 Authorities with a role in the management of the asset 33 7.2 Consultation processes 33 7.3 Consultation on Plan development and implementation 34 8 Outcomes evaluation 35 8.1 Introduction 35 8.2 Surveillance monitoring 36 8.3 Intervention monitoring 36 8.4 Interim arrangements 36 9 Adaptive management 37 9.1 Adaptive management framework 37 9.2 Adaptive management mechanisms 37 9.3 Reporting 38 River Murray Channel Asset Environmental Management Plan 2005-06 10 Risk management 39 10.1 Management of risk and legal issues 39 10.2 Risk mitigation measures 39 PART B – ASSET ANNUAL PLAN 2005-06 1 Overview of Part B 41 2 Seasonal outlook for the River Murray system 42 3 Priority environmental management actions this season 46 3.1 Introduction 46 3.2 Flow actions 46 3.3 Operational actions 48 3.4 Structural actions 51 3.5 Investigation actions 54 References 59 APPENDICES 61 Appendix 1 The Living Murray Environmental Works and Measures Program – 62 Project Summaries Appendix 2 Relevant state-based policies, strategies and programs 71 Appendix 3 Vision and objectives for the River Murray adopted by the MDB 74 Ministerial Council at Meeting 30 – 30 March 2001 Appendix 4 The Living Murray First Step decision interim ecological objectives 75 and outcomes for the River Murray Channel Asset agreed to by the MDB Ministerial Council at Meeting 34 – 14 November 2003 Appendix 5 Ecologically important elements of the generalised flow regime 76 Appendix 6 Additional background on flow-related and other threatening 77 processes Appendix 7 Current operating procedures and practices in the River Murray system that may serve to protect specific environmental values 87 Appendix 8 River reach analysis 89 Appendix 9 Summary of environmental management actions identified for possible implementation in the River Murray Channel Asset 115 Appendix 10 Summary of existing environmental monitoring programs for the River Murray Channel 116 Appendix 11 Preliminary risk assessment of environmental management actions identified for possible implementation in 2005-06 120 ii River Murray Channel Asset Environmental Management Plan 2005-06 List of Acronyms COAG – Council of Australian Governments CRG – Community Reference Group DIPNR – Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources DSE – Department of Sustainability and Environment DWLBC – Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation EWA – Environmental Water Allocation EWG – Environmental Watering Group FPRG – Fish Passage Reference Group LMEWP – Living Murray Environmental Watering Plan LM-EWMP – Living Murray Environmental Works and Measures Program MDB – Murray-Darling Basin MDBC – Murray-Darling Basin Commission MDB-IGA – Murray-Darling Basin Intergovernmental Agreement MEAG – Monitoring and Evaluation Advisory Group MLDRIN – Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations NFS – Native Fish Strategy NSW – New South Wales OEF – Outcomes Evaluation Framework RMEM – River Murray Environmental Manager (MDBC) RMW – River Murray Water SA – South Australia SEA – Significant Ecological Asset TLM – The Living Murray VIC – Victoria WLC – Water Liaison Committee Credits: The Australian Government Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF); The New South Wales Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR) and Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC); and Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). iii River Murray Channel Asset Environmental Management Plan 2005-06 List of Figures Figure 1 Location of the six Living Murray First Step decision significant ecological assets. Figure 2 Flow chart depicting the relationship between the Living Murray Business Plan, the Living Murray Environmental Watering Plan and Asset Environmental Management Plans (AEMPs). Figure 3 Longitudinal profile of the River Murray. Figure 4 Map of the River Murray system (reach boundaries are shown with the dashed line). Figure 5 A River Murray wetland (to the left of the main channel) permanently inundated at weir pool level (Lock and Weir 6). Figure 6 Distribution and impact of regulation on median annual discharge for the River Murray and its major tributaries. Figure 7 Simple conceptual model of the River Murray Channel ecosystem. Figure 8a Environmental condition and trend assessment from Norris et al. (2001) for the River Murray between Hume Dam and Yarrawonga Weir (reach 1). Figure 8b Environmental condition and trend assessment from Norris et al. (2001) for the River Murray between Yarrawonga Weir and Torrumbarry Weir (reach 2). Figure 8c Environmental condition and trend assessment from Norris et al. (2001) for the River Murray between Torrumbarry Weir and Lock 11 (reach 3). Figure 8d Environmental condition and trend assessment from Norris et al. (2001) for the River Murray between Lock 11 and Lock 3 (reach 4); and between Lock 3 and Wellington (reach 5). Figure 9 Operational diagram of the River Murray system and Snowy Mountains Scheme. Figure 10 A typical adaptive management cycle. List of Tables Table 1 Asset values. Table 2 Key threatening processes, river zone by zone. Table 3 Functions of each MDBC flow management structure. Table 4 Environmental water allocations available in the River Murray system, Murrumbidgee and Goulburn Rivers, separate from the water that will be made available through The Living Murray. Table 5 Broad overview of environmental management actions identified for the River Murray Channel Asset, the river reaches to which they apply, and the ecological objectives they address. Table 6 Summary of environmental flow achievements in the River Murray system to August 2002. Table 7 Consultation on plan development and implementation. iv River Murray Channel Asset Environmental Management Plan 2005-06 Executive Summary This document is the Asset Environmental Management Plan for the River Murray Channel significant ecological asset (‘Asset’), as required under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Addressing Water Over-allocation and Achieving Environmental Objectives in the Murray-Darling Basin (Clause 63) and the Living Murray Business Plan (Clause 91). The Asset Manager for the River Murray Channel Asset is the Environmental Watering Group (EWG). The EWG is responsible for this Plan and for undertaking consultation. Many of the actions in this Plan will ultimately be implemented by River Murray Water (the Murray-Darling Basin Commission’s operating arm), state constructing authorities and state agencies. Where required, state legislative approvals will be obtained and/or Murray-Darling Basin Commission and Ministerial Council approval sought in relation to proposed environmental management actions in this Plan. The River Murray Channel Asset extends