Environmental Watering FAQ
1. What is ‘environmental watering’ and why is it necessary?
Just like other water users, the environment has legally set aside water entitlements.
These are subject to the same rights and obligations as other water users’ entitlements. Using them does not affect farmers’ water allocations or town water supplies.
In the prolonged drought, the use of environmental water is focused on survival – of species and communities. Without environmental watering, there is a real risk of species and communities continuing to decline or becoming extinct.
We need to provide refuges through prolonged droughts so there is a base for recovery in wetter years.
2. Does delivery of environmental water affect irrigators or anyone else?
No, environmental water delivery will not impact on irrigators or other water users, including water for town supplies.
The environmental watering program involves key agencies, including catchment management authorities, land managers and water corporations to make sure this is the case.
Delivery is via spare channel capacity or pumps to put water into wetlands.
3. How much environmental water is available each year?
The amount of environmental water available each year varies, depending on water allocations – as is the case for irrigators.
The Victorian River Murray Flora and Fauna Bulk Entitlement is an entitlement for 27.6 billion litres of water.
There are also two sites that receive environmental water from other sources. Woorinen North Lake near Swan Hill receives water under the environmental obligations of Goulburn-Murray Water’s Bulk Entitlement. Little Lake Boort receives water from the Loddon River Environmental Reserve Bulk Entitlement.
4. How do you choose the sites for watering?
During drought, the program has three criteria for using water:
- To keep threatened species and communities alive
- To avoid irreversible loss or catastrophic events
- To provide critical drought refuges
Sites must meet at least one of these criteria to be chosen for watering. The decisions are made by a committee, which includes the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Parks Victoria and local catchment management authorities and water corporations.
5. What were the results of environmental watering in 2007/08?
The environmental watering program has so far been very successful. For example:
- Waterbirds: Waterbird numbers in south-eastern Australia are declining because of the prolonged drought. In 2007, there were 160,000 waterbirds in south-eastern Australia, compared to about 500,000 in an average year. For the past few years the environmental watering program has provided drought refuge for waterbirds at several sites, including Gunbower Forest, Barmah Forest and in the Goulburn-Broken wetlands. The watering achieved its aim of providing feeding and resting grounds for thousands of birds at each site, and in some cases, breeding occurred.
- Reedy Swamp, Goulburn-Broken Wetlands: Reedy Swamp provided critical drought refuge to thousands of waterbirds following watering last year. More than 3500 waterbirds were observed, including Glossy Ibis, Baillons Crake and Musk Duck (all vulnerable in Victoria). White Ibis and Black Swan also bred following the watering.
- River Red Gum trees: Research shows 87 per cent of red gums in the Mallee region are declining or dead. The trees are an essential part of the river’s floodplain in their own right as river icons and also because they provide essential habitat for flora and fauna. The environmental watering program has prevented any further decline in 560ha of River Red Gums – 2.5 per cent of red gums in the Mallee. This has not only kept the iconic trees alive but also provided drought refuge to the many plants and animals that live in them and their surrounding wetlands.