Northern region << BACK TO CONTENTS In June 2016, with water storages in the Loddon system drying up, water managers were heading into drought mode and had reduced environmental flows into the Loddon River to a trickle. Then the heavens opened. Heavy rain in the second half of 2016 delivered one of the biggest floods ever recorded in the Loddon River system. This event watered everything naturally, including the Boort wetlands and Birchs Creek, improving the condition of the aquatic and floodplain plants. In December 2016, the extra availability of water enabled water for the environment to be released to Serpentine Creek for the first time. Serpentine Creek is home to native river blackfish and is a popular canoe trail. Serpentine Creek is also a culturally important waterway for the Dja Dja Wurrung people, who have been connected to it for over 40,000 years. Culturally significant scarred trees and ring trees are found along the creek. The Loddon River system has been heavily modified and is mainly used to supply irrigators. In April and May 2017, North Central CMA, Goulburn-Murray Water and the VEWH performed a delicate balancing act to provide environmental flows to coax native fish to disperse. Fish monitoring found good numbers of golden perch, silver perch and bony herrings at Kerang Weir and at the chute fishway on the Loddon River. Murray cod, golden perch and silver perch were recorded in the fish lock at Kow Swamp, and fish tagged in the River Murray were detected moving through the various fishways in the system. The environmental flows supported North Central CMA’s Native Fish Recovery Plan, which aims to improve water flows, habitat and the connectivity of waterways. Waterway manager: North Central CMA Storage manager: Goulburn-Murray Water Site Loddon River and Tullaroop Creek Serpentine Creek Pyramid Creek Volume delivered in 2016–17 (ML) VEWH CEWH 11,789 373 924 1,582 96 - Total 13,371 469 924 Serpentine Creek, which received environmental water for the first time in 2016, by North Central CMA 71 | Victorian Environmental Water Holder
75 Publizr Home