Environmental watering: New South Wales Murray River catchment
Watering sitesThese sites were selected by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) based on proposals put forward by jurisdictions and after receiving advice from the Environmental Water Scientific Advisory Committee.
New South Wales will manage the watering at all sites and undertake monitoring of the ecological responses in collaboration with landholders and community groups. New South Wales will provide the information from each action to the Commonwealth.
Backwater Lagoon
Backwater Lagoon before watering
Photo: M. Mohell
Backwater Lagoon after watering
Photo: S. Jaensch
| Source | Volume (ML) |
|---|---|
| Autumn 2009 | |
| Commonwealth | 1,000 |
| Total | 1,000 |
Backwater Lagoon is in the Wangumma State Forest, between the inlet and outlet of Lake Victoria west of Wentworth. The site supports River Red Gum stands and habitats for vulnerable species including the Regent Parrot and the Southern Bell Frog.
The water was allocated to avoid irretrievable damage and provide drought refuge. Watering in autumn and early winter was undertaken to maintain soil moisture and promote growth in vegetation in the spring. This site was watered by the NSW Government in 2005-2006 under the Red Gum Rescue Project and the 2009 autumn watering has helped consolidate gains from the earlier watering. The earlier watering resulted in frog and bird breeding, provided habitat for a number of birds and improved the health of trees and other vegetation.
Werai State Forest
| Source | Volume (ML) |
|---|---|
| Spring 2009 | |
| Commonwealth | 4,500 |
| Total | 4,500 |
Werai State Forest is part of the NSW Central Murray State Forests Ramsar site, and is located 40 km north-west of Deniliquin along the floodplain at the intersection of the Edward River, Colligen Creek and Neimur River.
It is expected that approximately 500 hectares of River Red Gum forest will be inundated. The water will facilitate the recovery of significant wetland vegetation including Common Reed beds, and will benefit the River Red Gums, Moira Grass and Water Milfoil.
Toupna Creek
| Source | Volume (ML) |
|---|---|
| Spring 2009 | |
| Commonwealth | 1,500 |
| NSW | 1,500 |
| TLM | 750 |
| Total | 3,750 |
1,500 ML of Commonwealth water will be allocated to Toupna Creek in the Millewa State Forest (listed under the NSW Central Murray State Forests Ramsar site). The use of Commonwealth water at Toupna Creek is expected to benefit in-stream macrophytes and fringing River Red Gums. It is also expected to provide drought refuge for the threatened Southern Pygmy Perch.
The watering will be undertaken in conjunction with NSW and the Living Murray initiative watering of Douglas Swamp and Walthours Swamp in Millewa State Forest. These waterings are likely to be delivered through Toupna Creek rather than directly from the Murray, providing greater system connectivity and increasing ecological benefits.
Top-up flows (NSW)
| Source | Volume (ML) |
|---|---|
| Spring 2009 | |
| Commonwealth | 1,745 |
| NSW | 2,455 |
| Total | 4,200 |
Commonwealth water will be used to top-up nine sites in the NSW Murray to maximise the environmental outcomes from environmental watering events that are currently being undertaken by NSW. Benefits include extending inundation at sites such as Cliffhouse and Nampoo, which will assist populations of Southern Bell Frog to complete their lifecycle and increase opportunities for aquatic plant species to set seed.
The 1,745 ML of Commonwealth water will be used to top-up the following sites, which received NSW environmental water earlier this year.
| Sites | Commonwealth (ML) | State (ML) |
|---|---|---|
| Wee Wee Creek | 1,000 | |
| Andruco Lagoon | 100 | |
| Nampoo | 250 | |
| Cliffhouse 1 | 50 | |
| Cliffhouse 2 | 1,745 | 35 |
| Grand Junction | 800 | |
| Boeill FP | 50 | |
| Kennaugh | 20 | |
| Brechin | 150 |
Key
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