Central region << BACK TO CONTENTS Managing water for the environment isn’t always about adding more water. One of the success stories of 2016–17 was the lowering of the water levels of an internationally important wetland. Healthy wetlands need varying water levels, because their wide variety of plants and animals have differing water needs. Until this year, Reedy Lake — a wetland in the lower Barwon river system — suffered from having too much water for too long. The lake’s water levels had been high for over a decade, allowing reeds to choke the lake and crowd out other important plants and animals. This loss of habitat threatened endangered coastal saltmarsh communities and the number and diversity of internationally important migratory waterbirds the wetland supports. The wetland had literally had too much to drink and needed a good drying-out. Corangamite CMA worked with local community members, the Lower Barwon Advisory Committee, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria and the VEWH to put in place a plan to lower water levels at the lake. “If we don’t act, one of the last remaining areas of endangered coastal saltmarsh communities in the Corangamite Region will be lost, the dominant reeds will choke the wetland, carp will multiply and the wetland will no longer be able to provide a haven for a range of internationally important birds,” explained Corangamite CMA Chair Alice Knight. “Lowering water levels at Reedy Lake is an important management action that we believe will mitigate threats to the system and ensure all user groups can continue to use and cherish the lake into the future.” A low-water-level regime began at Reedy Lake in 2016–17. As explained in the VEWH’s Seasonal Watering Plan 2016–17, levels at the lake will be lowered each summer for the next two years, with full water levels maintained in the fourth year of the cycle. Click here to watch the Corangamite CMA video about environmental watering at Reedy Lake, and here to watch the video about environmental watering at Reedy Lake and Hospital Swamps, watch them at https://youtu.be/ZVADTKm9gcM and https://youtu.be/S_jsY2uch6Q Corangamite CMA, with the support of the VEWH, is keeping a close eye on the lake to see how it responds to the new approach. Monitoring of the lake is already showing signs that the regime is working, with clear evidence that the extent of reeds is reducing. The monitoring also identified environmental improvements including better wader habitat for migratory shorebirds and restored coastal saltmarsh habitat, and it also found that the new regime did not generate acid sulfate soils. Water levels at Hospital Swamps, another lower Barwon wetland, were also managed throughout 2016–17. Waterway manager: Corangamite CMA 37 | Victorian Environmental Water Holder
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