Murray River (NSW)
Water Quality and River Flow Objectives

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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.

Top of PageWater Quality Objectives

Protection of:

Aquatic ecosystems

Visual amenity

Secondary contact recreation

Primary contact recreation

Drinking water at point of supply-Disinfection only

Drinking water at point of supply-Clarification and disinfection

Drinking water at point of supply-Groundwater

Aquatic foods (cooked)

Top of PageRiver 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:

Protect pools in dry times

Protect natural low flows

Protect important rises in water levels

Maintain wetland and floodplain inundation

Mimic natural drying in temporary waterways

Maintain natural flow variability

Manage groundwater for ecosystems

Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

Supporting information

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.

Top of PageWater Quality Objectives

Protection of:

Aquatic ecosystems

Visual amenity

Secondary contact recreation, as a short-term objective, within 5 years

Primary contact recreation: assess opportunities to achieve as a longer-term objective, 10 years or more

Top of PageRiver Flow Objectives

Protect pools in dry times

Protect natural low flows

Maintain natural rates of change in water levels

Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

Top of PageSupporting information

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.

Top of PageWater Quality Objectives

Protection of:

Aquatic ecosystems

Visual amenity

Secondary contact recreation

Primary contact recreation

Livestock water supply

Irrigation water supply

Homestead water supply

Drinking water at point of supply-Disinfection only

Drinking water at point of supply-Clarification and disinfection

Drinking water at point of supply-Groundwater

Aquatic foods (cooked)

Top of PageRiver Flow Objectives

For all streams, natural watercourses and wetlands:

Protect pools in dry times

Protect natural low flows

Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

For groundwater areas that sometimes feed water into streams, or that are naturally shallow enough to supply trees, or that have rising watertables:

Manage groundwater for ecosystems

For all wetlands, high-flow channels, remnant floodplain vegetation and adjoining lands and watercourses, the above four objectives apply, plus,

Protect important rises in water levels

Maintain wetland and floodplain inundation

Mimic natural drying in temporary waterways

Supporting information

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.

Top of PageWater Quality Objectives

Protection of:

Aquatic ecosystems

Visual amenity

Secondary contact recreation

Primary contact recreation

Livestock water supply

Irrigation water supply

Homestead water supply

Drinking water at point of supply-Disinfection only

Drinking water at point of supply-Clarification and disinfection

Drinking water at point of supply-Groundwater

Aquatic foods (cooked)

Top of PageRiver Flow Objectives

Protect natural low flows

Protect important rises in water levels

Maintain wetland and floodplain inundation

Mimic natural drying in temporary waterways

Maintain natural flow variability

Maintain natural rates of change in water levels

Manage groundwater for ecosystems

Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

Supporting information

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.

Top of PageWater Quality Objectives

Protection of:

Aquatic ecosystems

Visual amenity

Secondary contact recreation

Primary contact recreation

Livestock water supply

Irrigation water supply

Homestead water supply

Drinking water at point of supply-Disinfection only

Drinking water at point of supply-Clarification and disinfection

Drinking water at point of supply-Groundwater

Aquatic foods (cooked)

Top of PageRiver Flow Objectives

Protect pools in dry times

Protect natural low flows

Protect important rises in water levels

Maintain natural flow variability

Maintain natural rates of change in water levels

Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

Minimise effects of dams on water quality

Supporting information

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.

Top of PageWater Quality Objectives

Protection of:

Aquatic ecosystems

Visual amenity

Secondary contact recreation

Primary contact recreation

Livestock water supply

Irrigation water supply

Homestead water supply

Drinking water at point of supply-Disinfection only

Drinking water at point of supply-Clarification and disinfection

Drinking water at point of supply-Groundwater

Aquatic foods (cooked)

Top of PageRiver 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.

Top of PageSupporting information

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.

Top of PageWater Quality Objectives

Objectives are to be set by interstate processes.

Top of PageRiver Flow Objectives

Objectives are to be set by interstate processes.

Supporting information

This page was published 1 May 2006