Wetlands Australia National Wetlands Update February 2013
Issue No. 22, February 2013
ISSN 1446-4843
Regulator upgrades in Gunbower Forest to help manage environmental flows
Anna Chatfield, North Central Catchment Management Authority
Victorian Minister for Water, Peter Walsh, officially
opened the Yarran Creek regulator on the 31st
August 2012 with Aunty Ester Kirby, local Barapa
Barapa Elder, Llew Vale, G-MW Chairman and
David Clark, North Central CMA Chairman.
(North Central Catchment Management Authority)
A major milestone in a multi-million dollar infrastructure project to deliver environmental water to Gunbower Forest has recently been celebrated with the opening of three refurbished regulators.
Gunbower Forest, an internationally important wetland along the Murray River, near Cohuna in north central Victoria, supports a diverse range of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
The future health of the 20 000 hectare forest depends on the ability to deliver environmental water to support the forest's flood-dependent ecosystem. The effects of river regulation and climate change have reduced the frequency and duration of natural flood events in the forest. This has had a significant impact on the health of the forest including deterioration in the condition of river red gums, contraction of wetland areas and less frequent breeding opportunities for waterbirds, frogs and fish.
To arrest the decline in the forest's health, a package of engineering structures that allows for the efficient and effective management of environmental water has been developed as part of the North Central Catchment Management Authority's Flooding Enhancement of Gunbower Forest Project, funded by The Living Murray program.
An important stage of the project is complete with a $1.6 million refurbishment of three existing regulators in the lower forest. The works improve the functionality and structural stability of the regulators and allow fish to move between the forest and Gunbower Creek.
The regulators enable the delivery of environmental water to approximately 2500 hectares of wetlands and river red gum forest to maintain their health during extended 'dry times'. Without active environmental water delivery, the forest's wetlands, flood dependent understorey and river red gum communities will continue to decline.
During times of flood the lower area of the forest provides habitat that supports colonial waterbird breeding, including the threatened great egret. Environmental water can be delivered through the new regulators to maintain water levels under nests, to reduce the risk of birds abandoning their chicks.
Great Egret Chicks in the Little Gunbower wetlands
complex, Gunbower Forest January 2012.
(North Central Catchment Management Authority)
The next works planned for the project involve additional investment of $13.5 million to construct a weir, regulator and channel to allow large volumes of environmental water to be delivered to a greater area, helping to sustain a vibrant forest. The infrastructure will enable environmental water managers to flood approximately 4700 hectares of the forest - 80 per cent of the forest's wetlands. Works are expected to be complete in late 2013.
The Living Murray is a joint initiative funded by the New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian, Australian Capital Territory and Commonwealth governments, coordinated by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
