Criteria for short listing watering priorities in 2008-09

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts

  1. Must meet the requirements of section 105 of the Water Act 2007 and the approach articulated in section 3.2 of the Business Plan.
  2. The ecological significance of the asset (includes matters such as Ramsar or Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia listing, presence of nationally listed threatened, migratory or rare species)
  3. The expected ecological outcomes from the proposed water use, based on:
    1. the current health of assets, antecedent conditions, and the likely response to watering (based on previous experience or expert opinion)
    2. other factors which may affect ecological health (e.g. pest infestations), and
    3. the existence of a site management plan.
  4. Any potential risks resulting from the proposed watering action, including the likelihood and significance of:
    1. negative outcomes from the watering action (e.g. black water events, salinity problems) and measures taken to minimise these
    2. negative outcomes of not undertaking the watering action this year (i.e. related to the urgency of the need), and
    3. not achieving the expected ecological outcomes.
  5. The degree to which Commonwealth water is likely to make a substantial contribution to protecting or restoring the ecological significance of the asset.
  6. The contribution of the delivery partner to the watering event (e.g. water volume, financial, monitoring, management).
  7. The cost effectiveness of undertaking the watering, based on:
    1. the amount of Commonwealth water and resources needed relative to the contribution of the State and delivery partner to the watering event
    2. other factors affecting the watering, such as transmission losses, and
    3. opportunity to leverage off other water releases (e.g. ability to use environmental water in concert with stock and domestic releases) and to realise multiple benefits.
  8. The long-term likelihood of sustaining the ecological values of the asset (including information on the general inundation frequency of the area, i.e. whether the asset will survive with natural watering plus occasional supplementary environmental watering, or whether it be totally reliant on environmental watering for survival).
  9. The adequacy of the governance and management arrangements, including the monitoring and evaluation activities, in place to ensure effective outcomes from the watering action.