Gippsland region << BACK TO CONTENTS The Snowy River was given a new lease on life in 2016–17 with over 130,000 megalitres of environmental water creating a food chain bonanza for the river’s plants and animals. Originating on the high plateaus of Mt Kosciusko in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, the Snowy River is an Australian icon immortalised by Banjo Paterson’s poem The Man from Snowy River. Since then, this once-mighty river has changed: much of its natural flow has been diverted for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, which was constructed over 50 years ago. “Floods, land clearing and reduced flows have contributed to changes in the Snowy River over time,” said East Gippsland CMA Program Manager Bec Hemming. “The river is now wider, straighter and shallower, particularly in the lower floodplains areas. The build-up of sediment in the river bed has resulted in a loss of habitat for native plants, waterbirds and aquatic animals. The East Gippsland CMA has worked closely with the community to rehabilitate the river by planting trees, controlling willows and other weeds and excluding stock from the river.” To help the river recover, environmental water is released every day of the year. Bigger releases in winter and spring recreate flows that would have previously resulted naturally from rainfall or snowmelt. “We had pretty wet conditions in spring 2016, which coincided with planned high-flow deliveries of water for the environment, so we rescheduled environmental watering for later in 2016 to give the river a much-needed summer drink,” said Bec. Paddle steamer on the Snowy River, by East Gippsland CMA To further investigate the effect of environmental flows in the Snowy River, researchers at the Arthur Rylah Institute are looking at the extent to which these flows deliver nutrients to the river estuary. Nutrient cycles are a vital component of the estuary food web and a functioning river system. Preliminary results of this monitoring are expected in 2018. Waterway manager: New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Water and East Gippsland CMA Storage manager: Snowy Hydro Limited Site Snowy River Volume delivered in 2016–17 (ML) 132,300 Environmental water deliveries to the Snowy River are managed by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, using water made available by Victoria and New South Wales. 21 | Victorian Environmental Water Holder
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