Murray River (NSW)
Water Quality and River Flow Objectives
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At a Glance |
This section gives the Water Quality Objectives (WQOs) and the River Flow Objectives (RFOs) for the Murray River catchment, which should be used to develop plans and actions affecting water quality and river health. Only the priority RFOs are listed in this section, but the remaining objectives still need to be considered when developing flow management plans or dealing with particular local river conditions.
Mainly forested areas
Streams in mainly forested areas are often valued for their conservation or recreational values. They usually have relatively natural flows and water quality.
Map: This category applies to streams running through areas coloured green on the map (state forests, national parks and nature reserves); and to streams in other forested or high-conservation-value areas, if any are defined locally.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
In many upland forest streams all eleven inland RFOs are currently being achieved. Priority action may be required to achieve one or more of the following object-ives in uncontrolled streams in other forested areas:
Supporting information
- Where the whole catchment of a stream is naturally vegetated, WQOs and RFOs are generally achieved. High-level protection should be given to flows and water quality in these least affected streams and in other streams with high conservation values. Existing management practices in national parks or other reserves may already aim to achieve this. In some streams, local circumstances restrict achievement of objectives. For example, the use of streams in state forests by cattle may conflict with the achievement of water quality suitable for swimming.
- Some streams flowing from disturbed vegetation, plantations or regrowth may meet all WQOs and RFOs, but streams below recently disturbed sites may have increased turbidity and downstream sedimentation. Extensive areas of rapidly growing trees may reduce low flows in adjoining streams. Forests with thick groundcover may absorb storm peaks and increase the duration of some flows.
- Some of the state forests and other reserves marked on the map include streams that start in largely cleared land. Water quality and flow patterns through these vegetated areas generally reflect any upstream effects. There may be high public expectations for the water quality in these streams owing to the public accessibility of these areas, particularly for recreation.
- Streams flowing out of naturally vegetated areas, including private forests, can provide clean water for downstream uses such as homesteads or livestock. These downstream benefits should be defined locally to provide specific protection.
- Aboriginal people have identified the consumption of raw aquatic foods as a traditional and existing use within the catchment. NSW Health recommends against the consumption of raw shellfish harvested on a non-commercial basis and local communities should be made aware of the risks involved.
- Native vegetation on streambanks and floodplains can provide good habitats for native fish, other animals and plants. The effective value of these habitats is likely to be limited if the water quality is poor or if flow patterns are not sufficiently close to natural to provide correct cues for breeding and to enable survival of the offspring. Returning water quality and flow patterns as close as practical to natural is therefore desirable.
- If the catchment or river management committees consider that a high level of protection should apply to streams with high conservation value outside reserves, they may seek local views and make recommendations to the Government.
Waterways affected by urban development
Waterways within urban areas are often substantially modified and may carry poor-quality stormwater. Local communities are often keen to see these waterways returned to more natural conditions.
Map: These areas are shown as orange dots on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting information
- Continuing action is needed to reduce the effects on water quality of stormwater and sewerage discharges and of unsewered villages.
- In some urban waterways, aquatic ecosystems are considerably modified. A return to pristine aquatic ecosystems in these areas is unlikely and impractical, but water quality conditions for existing ecosystems can be improved greatly for the benefit of local species and broader catchment health. Data from other local aquatic ecosystems of similar type, in areas that are not urbanised, may provide achievable criteria for these ecosystems.
- Urban waterways such as Bungambrawatha Creek in Albury fall into this category. Submissions received identified sewage discharge zones such as those on Tumbarumba Creek. The Murray Catchment Management Committee Water Quality Working Group also identified urban water quality issues in the Billabong Creek subcatchment.
- Guidance on Managing Urban Stormwater, to be published in 2006 describes how councils and developers can contribute to Water Quality Objectives in planning, developing and designing urban areas.
- Environmental Guide to the Management of Local Government Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Services (DLWC 1997c) helps councils in providing and managing drainage in a way that will achieve sustainable outcomes.
- The tendency for urban development to cause rapid rises in storm runoff should be minimised.
- See also the supporting information under 'Uncontrolled streams', below.
Uncontrolled streams
This category applies to uncontrolled waterways that are not in the other categories. The flow patterns of these streams are largely natural.
Map: Uncontrolled streams are shown as blue lines on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
For all streams, natural watercourses and wetlands:
For groundwater areas that sometimes feed water into streams, or that are naturally shallow enough to supply trees, or that have rising watertables:
For all wetlands, high-flow channels, remnant floodplain vegetation and adjoining lands and watercourses, the above four objectives apply, plus,
Supporting information
- This category covers most streams outside the Murray River's floodplain, including the upper half of Billabong Creek and some tributaries of the Upper Murray River.
- A range of local and catchment-wide water quality programs exist.
- The former Murray Catchment Management Committee's (CMC's) and Catchment Management Board worked on a water quality monitoring strategy and a nutrient management strategy for the Murray River catchment (NSW). In its submission on interim objectives, the CMC listed priority issues for the following zones that they identified. Continuing work will be needed to decide for each zone how best to work towards the objectives, taking the following differing local priorities and circumstances into account. Taking this work forward will now be the role of the Murray Catchment Management Authority (CMA).
- Upper Billabong Creek: agricultural impacts, dryland salinity and a developing acid soil problem
- unregulated Billabong Creek (section from Holbrook to Colombo confluence plus creeks draining to Lake Urana and Jerilderie): agricultural impacts, dryland salinity, developing acid soil problems, streambank erosion from stock, groundwater inflows (including saline groundwater intrusion), and urban issues
- unregulated upper Murray (streams not affected by the Snowy Mountains or private hydro-electric schemes): agricultural impacts, forestry development, urban issues. Existing high water quality standards must be maintained without compromise.
- The CMA can use local knowledge to further develop site-specific water quality reference criteria for each priority issue.
- To achieve drinking water objectives for uncontrolled streams the water drawn at point of supply needs to be of adequate quality in the long term for the available level of treatment to be effective. Towns that extract drinking water from streams or bores include Tumbarumba, Tooma, Holbrook, Rand, Walbundrie, Howlong, and Walla Walla.
- Local factors to be considered in sharing stream flows and protecting aquatic habitats, particularly in dry seasons, and in protecting inundation patterns of flood-dependent ecosystems include:
- the strong demand during low flows from some streams; for example, unregulated Billabong Creek (for which a Water Sharing Plan commenced in July 2004).
- the sharing systems already worked out by or with local water user groups, although existing systems should be reviewed in relation to all RFOs, and refined if necessary
- the need to maintain native fish populations and the ability of these streams to help restore populations that have been seriously reduced
- the interactions between flow, water quality, groundwater and streambanks
- the conservation values of wetlands, including Lake Urana and other smaller lakes and swamps, and of riparian and remnant floodplain vegetation along uncontrolled streams in both the eastern and western parts of the catchment
- the need to identify ecological and human values, inundation patterns and local inflow needs of each wetland or area of remnant floodplain vegetation to provide a basis for review or approval of floodplain management plans and works.
- Areas where changes in groundwater levels could affect streamflow or ecosystems should be identified. Some aquifers that appear likely to support ecosystems or contribute valuable surface flows have already been identified; for example, the upper Murray fractured rock aquifers. There are also areas where dryland salinity and rising watertables are threatening ecosystems, agriculture or water quality; for example, Billabong Creek sedimentary aquifer and the West Hume Landcare area. Community action to stop watertables rising has begun.
- RFO Minimise effects of weirs and other structures is an important issue for most streams. Weirs on anabranches of Billabong Creek, which were intended to push low flows down the main creek, appear to be having the opposite effect. A statewide program of reviewing existing weirs is proposed to combine local and scientific knowledge in assessing the beneficial and possible adverse effects of each weir, and practical options for their management.
Controlled rivers with altered flows (regulated creeks)
Yanco and Colombo creeks and parts of Billabong and Forest creeks receive controlled flows from the Murrumbidgee River. They have been declared as regulated streams under section 22c of the Water Act. Provision of a continuous flow for irrigation and other purposes results in moderately high flows in summer and autumn when flows would naturally be brief or low. In other seasons flows may sometimes be reduced or increased. The variability of flows has been altered.
Map: These creeks are shown as brown lines on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting information
- These creeks are Yanco and Colombo creeks, Billabong Creek below the Colombo Creek confluence, and part of Forest Creek.
- Plans to meet these objectives over time will require coordination across the Murray and Murrumbidgee systems and with the land and water management plans for Coleambally and Murray irrigation areas. Plans for these creeks may need to focus on meeting the needs of:
- local people
- ecosystems of the creeks and high-flow channels, including riparian vegetation, effective fish passage and successful breeding by native fish
- remnant native floodplain vegetation
- people and ecosystems downstream.
- Management of flows will need to take into account any effects on licensed water users of the environmental water rules in the Murrumbidgee Water Sharing Plan, and ensure that the groups of water users accessing Murrumbidgee river water through these creeks are not far more adversely affected by changes to flow management than other Murrumbidgee water users.
- A range of existing catchment and water quality programs throughout the creeks' catchments are contributing to achieving WQOs.
- The former Murray Catchment Management Committee's Water Quality Working Group listed the priority issues for the regulated Billabong Creek zone as agricultural impacts, salinity, streambank erosion, habitat decline, groundwater inflows, and flow effects on water quality.
- In areas of higher agricultural use, the water quality in streams is often poor. In recent years some chemical contaminants, for example, endosulfan and molinate, have prevented the achievement of some objectives.
- To achieve WQOs for drinking water for these creeks the water drawn at point of supply needs to be of adequate quality for the available level of treatment to be effective. Towns on the regulated creeks that extract drinking water from streams or bores include Jerilderie and Conargo.
- Monitoring is needed of the effects of existing management practices and environmental flow rules on the creeks' channels, their ecosystems, their water quality and the people who value or depend on the creeks.
- Flow issues to be considered in the irrigation season may include improving variability of flows for environmental needs while continuing to meet the needs of extractive users. In times of little or no irrigation there may be opportunities to both improve variability and in some years to mimic natural drying at least of stream banks, particularly where trees or other vegetation may be adversely affected by prolonged raised flow levels. To avoid risk of stream bank collapse, water levels should not be reduced rapidly. Any action to achieve partial drying should be designed to not threaten town water supplies, other essential supplies or business enterprises.
- Alluvial aquifers adjoining the creeks will continue to be managed in association with the creeks. Groundwater levels may affect ecosystems. Action is needed to maintain groundwater within levels critical to ecosystems, particularly where water levels have risen to a level that threatens natural or agricultural systems.
- Minimising the adverse effects of weirs on these creeks through review of the structures and their management is an important objective for these streams.
Controlled river with altered flows (Mannus Creek)
Mannus Creek is a controlled river with an altered flow pattern below a private hydro-electric power station. The total volume of flow is not changed, but some flows are stored above a weir for release at times of higher demand for electricity. The variability, rate of rise, rate of fall, and duration of high, moderate or low flows may be altered.
Map: This controlled river is shown as a brown line on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting information
- Increased erosion, turbidity and downstream sedimentation below the hydro-electric power station are issues to be addressed. The power station's current operation strategy should be reviewed in consultation with all affected people to determine whether it is contributing to this erosion and how the erosion can be reduced and water quality can be improved.
- Recent installation of a sewage effluent irrigation system on the prison farm adjacent to Mannus Creek is expected to stop or greatly reduce the amount of effluent reaching the creek.
- The flow pattern in Mannus Creek below the hydro-electric power station is a local issue. Releases are currently required to exceed a minimum rate. Although the concern most commonly raised was that flows were sometimes reduced to too low a level, other aspects of the flow pattern are having adverse effects on the creek banks, creek bed or ecosystems downstream.
- Appropriate actions to meet RFOs and targets should be developed after considering local environmental, social and economic factors, including the views of the power station owner and local people.
Streams affected by Snowy Scheme
These streams either contribute to or receive flow from the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme. The Snowy Water Inquiry was commissioned in 1998 to assess river management of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme and recommend environmental flow options for rivers affected by the Scheme. The Inquiry’s terms of reference required analysis of the environmental, social and economic effects of various options for future management, prior to making recommendations to the NSW and Victorian Governments. The final report of the Inquiry was submitted on 23 October 1998. In August 2000, the NSW and Victorian Governments reached an agreement for environmental releases for the Snowy River below Jindabyne Dam which will increase flows from 1% to 22% of natural flows downstream of Jindabyne Dam within 10 years. Releases were also agreed for other rivers affected by the Scheme, including the upper Murrumbidgee River, the upper Snowy River (above Jindabyne Dam), the Goodradigbee River and the Geehi River.
Map: Streams affected by the Snowy Scheme are in the area marked in purple on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
All eleven inland RFOs should be considered in flow planning and management, However, the overall framework for the amounts of flow diverted to or from streams affected by the Snowy Scheme has been agreed by the NSW, Victorian and Commonwealth Governments (see above) and is regulated by the Snowy Water Licence under the NSW Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1998.
Supporting information
- This category applies to the Tooma and Swampy Plain rivers and the section of the Murray River between Swampy Plain River and Hume Reservoir.
- WQOs and action plans to achieve them need to be further developed in the context of the flow management framework prescribed by the Snowy Water Licence.
- The section of the Upper Murray River mainstream between Swampy Plain River and Hume Reservoir is an important source for people living on the Victorian side of the river, but is not covered by the Murray River interstate process for setting river flow and Water Quality Objectives. Victoria should be consulted about management of this section of the river.
- Diversions of flows from the Tooma River's upper catchment to Tumut Pond in the Murrumbidgee River catchment reduce flows available to share between the environment and extractive users on the Tooma River below Tooma Reservoir. Flows below Geehi Reservoir are reduced, but flows in the Swampy Plain River below Khancoban Pondage are substantially increased by diversions of water, principally from the Snowy River catchment, through Murray 1 and Murray 2 power stations.
Streams subject to Murray and Lower Darling interstate processes
The management of the Murray River, and therefore of its major anabranches and other streams within its floodplain, is affected by agreements to meet water needs in Victoria, South Australia and NSW.
Flows in the Wakool system depend on the quality and patterns of flows in the Murray River. These are affected by inflows from the Snowy Scheme, catchment management in Victoria and NSW, reduction of floods by Dartmouth Reservoir (in Victoria) and Hume Reservoir (on the Murray River), and flow regulation to meet water needs in the three States, including increased summer flows and reduced winter and spring flows.
Map: This category applies to rivers and creeks in the areas coloured pink on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Objectives are to be set by interstate processes.
River Flow Objectives
Objectives are to be set by interstate processes.
Supporting information
- This category includes Murray, Edward, Wakool and Niemur rivers and all creeks, wetlands and watercourses in the floodplains of these rivers (pink area).
- These rivers, the Lower Darling and the Great Darling Anabranch are affected by interstate processes, so environmental objectives have not been developed by New South Wales for these rivers. This website only describes environmental objectives for NSW tributaries of the Murray.
- In August 2002, the Murray Darling Basin Ministerial Council agreed on the draft WQOs for the River Murray and Lower Darling (download DraftMDBMCWQOs.pdf [63kb])
- In 2004, the New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian, Queensland and Commonwealth Governments agreed to address flows in the Murray River as part of the National Water Initiative, by signing the Intergovernmental Agreement on Addressing Water Overallocation and Achieving Environmental Objectives in the Murray-Darling Basin
- This Agreement sets out the arrangements for investing $500 million over five years commencing in 2004-05, to reduce the level of water overallocation and to achieve specific environmental outcomes in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), principally the River Murray and Lower Darling.
- The first priority for this investment will be water recovery for six significant ecological assets identified by the MDB Ministerial Council in November 2003:
- the Barmah-Millewa Forest
- Gunbower and Koondrook-Perricoota Forests
- Hattah Lakes
- Chowilla floodplain (including Lindsay-Wallpolla)
- the Murray Mouth, Coorong and Lower Lakes, and
- the River Murray Channel.
- Water recovery measures to be funded under the MDB Water Agreement may include investment in water infrastructure and behavioural change and purchase of water on the market, with recovered water to be set aside for environmental purposes.
- More details are available at http://www.thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au/
This page was published 1 May 2006