Attachment 4 to Third Reedy Lake EES referral GMW Connections Project Kerang Lakes Bypass Project summary overview Draft report – v2 5 April 2016 KERANG LAKES BYPASS PROJECT BACKGROUND DRAFT REPORT Document History and Distribution Version(s) Version Date Author(s) Notes 1 28/9/2015 Pat Feehan Based on Business Case report 2 08/4/2016 Pat Feehan/Paul Lacy Working document Distribution Version Date Recipient(s) Notes PAGE | I KERANG LAKES BYPASS PROJECT BACKGROUND DRAFT REPORT Table of Contents Glossary and abbreviations .................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 1 THE KERANG LAKES ............................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Project Area........................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Attributes .............................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Regional economics .............................................................................................. 4 1.4 Climate .................................................................................................................. 4 1.5 Hydrogeology ........................................................................................................ 4 2 HISTORY OF INVESTIGATIONS ............................................................................................. 6 2.1 Torrumbarry Main Channel investigation, 1946 ................................................... 6 2.2 Parliamentary Inquiry, 1965 ................................................................................. 6 2.3 Kerang Lakes Working Group, 1989 ...................................................................... 7 2.4 Kerang Swan Hill Future Land Use Study, 2003 .................................................... 7 2.5 TRAMS, 2007 and 2010 ......................................................................................... 8 2.6 The Kerang Lakes Water Savings Project .............................................................. 8 3 KLBP Delivery Structure ...................................................................................................... 9 3.1 GMW Connections Project .................................................................................... 9 3.2 Phase 1 .................................................................................................................. 9 3.3 Phase 2 ................................................................................................................10 4 THE KLBP DELIVERY (PHASE 1) .......................................................................................... 11 4.1 Project Scope ......................................................................................................11 4.2 Project Investigations ..........................................................................................13 4.3 Summary .............................................................................................................13 5 KLBP DELIVERY (PHASE 1A) ............................................................................................... 14 5.1 Project Scope ......................................................................................................14 PAGE | II KERANG LAKES BYPASS PROJECT BACKGROUND DRAFT REPORT 5.2 Project Investigation ..........................................................................................14 5.3 Summary .............................................................................................................15 6 Third Reedy Lake Bypass ................................................................................................... 16 6.1 The environmental water regime .......................................................................16 6.2 Overview of ecological objectives and benefits ..................................................17 6.3 Option assessment ..............................................................................................18 6.4 Developing the Preferred Option........................................................................18 6.5 Benefits of implementing the preferred option .................................................19 6.6 Response to Business Case .................................................................................20 6.7 Engineering design ..............................................................................................21 6.8 Connections Assessment ....................................................................................25 7 Water savings.................................................................................................................... 26 7.1 Evaporation from wetlands modelling approach ...............................................26 7.2 Scenario assessment ...........................................................................................27 7.3 Modelled water savings ......................................................................................29 7.4 Option not considered ........................................................................................29 7.5 Victorian environmental water holdings ............................................................30 8 KLBP – Phase 2 Project - Third Reedy Lake ........................................................................ 31 8.1 Topography .........................................................................................................31 8.2 Hydrogeological Conceptual model ....................................................................31 8.3 Bathymetry..........................................................................................................33 8.4 Soils .....................................................................................................................34 8.5 Hydrology ............................................................................................................36 8.6 Ecology ................................................................................................................37 8.7 Stratigraphy and Regional Groundwater Flow....................................................38 8.8 Water quality ......................................................................................................39 PAGE | III KERANG LAKES BYPASS PROJECT BACKGROUND DRAFT REPORT 8.9 Local Groundwater and Surface Water Flow ......................................................40 9 Flora and Fauna ................................................................................................................. 41 9.1 Values ..................................................................................................................41 9.2 Flora ....................................................................................................................41 9.3 Fauna ...................................................................................................................46 9.4 Fish ......................................................................................................................48 9.4.1 Silver Perch (Bidyanus bidyanus) ....................................................................48 9.4.2 Freshwater Catfish (Tandanus tandanus) .......................................................48 9.4.3 Murray Hardyhead ..........................................................................................48 9.4.4 Unspecked hardyhead ....................................................................................49 9.4.5 Murray Cod (Maccullochella peelii; Vulnerable EPBC; DSE 2013) ..................49 9.4.6 Golden Perch (Macquaria ambigua) ...............................................................49 9.4.7 Unspecked Hardyhead (Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum fulvus) ..............50 9.5 Lowland Riverine Fish Community of the Southern Murray-Darling Basin (LRFCSMB) 50 9.6 Turtle species ......................................................................................................50 9.7 Wetland representativeness and distinctiveness ...............................................51 10 Land Use ........................................................................................................................ 52 10.1 Social and economic............................................................................................52 10.1.1 Social and Economic Impacts of the Proposed Third Reedy Lake bypass. ..54 11 Shire of Gannawarra ..................................................................................................... 56 11.1 Gannawarra Planning Scheme ............................................................................56 11.1.1 Farming Zone Purpose ................................................................................56 11.1.2 PCRZ Purpose ..............................................................................................57 11.1.3 LSIO Purpose ...............................................................................................57 11.1.4 RFO Purpose ................................................................................................58 12 Cultural Heritage ..........................................................................................................