Water managers will respond to conditions as they evolve in order to support native fish, waterbirds and vegetation communities. Building resilience in a highly variable climate will be the focus of watering efforts.
The focus of water managers will be to optimise the outcomes of recent tributary flows with a particular focus on creating opportunities for recovery now that the drought appears to be relenting.
Maintaining drought refuges will be the focus of water managers in the Lachlan this year. If water becomes available, flows may be delivered to support native fish at locations across the catchment.
In 2019–20, water managers will focus on protecting key water dependent assets such as native fish communities and supporting the resilience of rivers and wetlands to ensure they are ready to respond when rain and river flows return to the catchment.
With drought in the northern basin now in its third year, environmental demands are increasing, particularly in relation to connectivity and native fish. In 2019–20, the focus of water managers will be to minimise unrecoverable losses of ecological assets and functionality.
This year, water managers plan to boost productivity and build system-scale resilience where water is available. If dry conditions continue into extreme dry, the focus will shift to providing drought refuges and avoiding irretrievable loss of species and habitat.
In 2019–20, managed water will target a range of outcomes, including the maintenance of habitat that support colonial nesting waterbirds and the threatened Australasian bittern, improving conditions for small-bodied native fish, providing refuge and dispersal flows for large-bodied native fish, supporting wetland plants and enhancing connectivity in waterways for native fish.
This year managed watering events will focus on maintaining drought refuge habitat for southern bell frogs, native fish, waterbirds and other aquatic species.
