COMMONWEALTH and state agencies co-ordinate on every release of environmental flows in the Murray and Goulburn valleys to gain the greatest benefit, according to a Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment spokesperson.
The spokesperson was responding to criticism by deputy mayor Bill Moar that there was a lack of co-ordination between the authorities managing environmental water.
Cr Moar’s comments came during discussion of a proposal from Cr Nicole McKay that the council ask for a boost to environmental flows.
The council voted unanimously to ask water managers to boost environmental flows, as soon as possible and for as long as safely possible, to benefit the region between Swan Hill and Robinvale.
Water allocated to the environment is managed by three separate organisations, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, the Victorian Environmental Water Holder and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
In a statement, the DAWE spokesperson said there were plans to deliver water in the Murray and Goulburn systems during winter and spring “to support riverbank and wetland plants, newly fledged waterbirds and young fish that bred last year”.
“Commonwealth and state agencies co-ordinate on every environmental flow in the Murray and Goulburn valleys to gain the greatest benefit from our combined water holdings,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for the Victorian Environmental Water Holder said the seasonal watering plan outlined likely deliveries before June 30, when the next year’s plan would be published.
The 2021-22 watering plan for the northern region is a 144-page document containing suggestions for how water might be delivered during that period under a range of rainfall scenarios.
It showed that many of the Murray River floodplains had not been inundated since 2016-17.
“They are prioritised for environmental watering in 2021-22 under all climate scenarios to prevent native plant communities from exceeding their tolerable dry period,” the plan said.
“Co-ordination during annual planning is fundamental to successful basin-scale outcomes … water for the environment delivered through northern Victorian waterways can often be reused to achieve further environmental benefits downstream.”
The VEWH spokesperson said there was 8953 gigalitres of environmental water available to Victoria in the Murray River system and storages such as Dartmouth and Hume dams. Another 3556GL was held in the Goulburn Valley.
Together they accounted for less than 2 per cent of the total volume of water in storage, the spokesman said.
The DAWE spokesperson said Commonwealth environmental water made up less than 3 per cent of the total storage volume in the Murray River and less than 5 per cent in the Goulburn River.
According to the VEWH website, 21,411.5ML had been released this year to Gunbower Creek and forest between Torrumbarry and Koondrook, and 3860ML to the Central Murray Wetlands on the lower Loddon River Murray floodplain.
But there were no releases earmarked for the area between there and Hattah Lakes, for which 56,144ML had been released.
