Northern region << BACK TO CONTENTS Animals in the Campaspe River enjoyed near-ideal river flows in 2016–17, with the river receiving the right amount of water flowing through it at the right times to meet its environmental needs. For the first year since the 1990s, the river enjoyed its full complement of recommended flow throughout the year. This was thanks to a combination of high rainfall and careful planning by water agency partners. While the river will never return to its pristine condition before it was altered to provide water for homes, farms and businesses, North Central CMA works to provide the river with the best flows possible to keep it healthy and to sustain its animals and plants. Staff of North Central CMA worked with Goulburn-Murray Water for the third year in a row to manage irrigation flows downstream of Lake Eppalock to help fish, platypus and native water rats survive the summer. Environmental flows are sometimes piggybacked on irrigation water deliveries, to maximise efficient use of water and benefits for the river. They also collaborated with Goulburn Broken CMA and the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, and were guided by fish ecologists from the Arthur Rylah Institute, to deliver a successful fish migration flow in March (see ‘Rivers without borders’, pages 81–84). The flows triggered the migration of golden and silver perch from below the Torrumbarry Weir near Echuca into the Campaspe and Goulburn rivers. “Monitoring found good numbers of silver perch in the Campaspe for the first time in 10 years and juvenile Murray cod at their highest levels since monitoring began in 2000,” said North Central CMA Environmental Water Manager Darren White. The river is in good shape. Murray– Darling rainbowfish, recorded only once in the catchment before 2013–14, are now the dominant species downstream of the Campaspe Weir. Darren White, North Central CMA. Waterway manager: North Central CMA Storage manager: Goulburn-Murray Water Site Campaspe River Volume delivered in 2016–17 (ML) 5,551 A Murray–Darling rainbowfish, by Gunther Schmida 65 | Victorian Environmental Water Holder
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