The agency in charge of delivering environmental flows is helping to boost native fish populations by creating refuges from blackwater after last year's riverine floods in inland New South Wales and Victoria.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Simon Banks told a Senate estimates hearing on Friday his agency had been focusing on programs in sections of the Edwards River to create freshwater refuges for species such as Murray Cod.
Hypoxic blackwater events occur when floodwater moving across a plain picks up organic matter which then breaks down and sucks oxygen out of the water, often leading to mass fish kills.
Dr Banks said this had been a consequence in many of the wetlands and forests that had not had "a watering for many years".
He said the water holder had been working with local landholders and Murray Irrigation to create fish "escapes" by diverting clean water into sections of the river until the blackwater passes.
READ MORE:
"It's not exacerbating flooding. It's just simply diverting water in the system around the forests," Dr Banks said.
"There are certain sort of situations where we can do something, and where we can, we certainly do, and it's been proven as a successful strategy."
The CEWH is reviewing the extent of the impacts of last year's floods to understand issues such as water volumes, flows and constraints.
The agency is also attempting to monitor areas around the Murray-Darling basin, but Dr Banks said scientists had trouble getting onto the floodplains and into the system.
It comes as scientists had been observing a record breeding season for wetland birds due to the floods rejuvenating the system.
Dr Banks said the CEWH had delivered 653 gigalitres of water so far this financial year to help maintain levels to make sure these birds complete their breeding cycles as parts of the basin began to dry.
"The floods have triggered these events and for us to ensure that they're completed is really important in terms of maintaining or improving the populations of waterbirds," he said.
Dr Banks said the CEWH would also start assessing how much water it would carry over into the next year, to ensure it can conduct activities such as restoring or protecting fish populations.
He said although the Bureau of Meteorology had forecast a dry four months ahead, he expected the CEWH would receive "a reasonable level of allocation" in the next water year.
"Things can turn dry very quickly and I think we will stand ready to be able to respond, which might be how we use our watering systems ... to freshen up water holes, which we did in the last drought," he said.
"And I think we've demonstrated that we can use it in in dry times, but also these these wet times."
