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8/10/10
NEMP and EWA Programs: Flow and Water Quality
Richard DavisProgram Coordinator
8/10/10
Blue Green Algal Crisis1991 Darling River bloom
NSW state of emergency
Estimated $2.4 million loss of tourist revenue and $2 million on alternative water supplies
Other blooms
800km of the River Murray Hume Dam -Euston
in 1983
Various reservoirs
Swan River, WA
Estuaries and coastal lakes
Moreton bay
Annual cost between $180-240 million (Atech)
8/10/10
Management ResponsesEmergency committees
MDBC Task Force
NSW Blue-Green Algal Task Force
Victoria BG Algal Project Team
Focus on
Identification and Protection
Prevention - nutrient reduction, especially phosphorus
Science reviews by LWRRDC and MDBC
In-principle understanding based largely on northern hemisphere
Local processes not well known
Flow and turbidity appear correlated but causes not understood
8/10/10
National Eutrophication Management Program 1995-
2000LRDDC and MDBC
Scope
Catchments
In-stream
Reservoirs
Estuaries
Objectives
Understand processes leading to the initiation and development of algal blooms
Help prevent and manage impacts of eutrophication
Communicate research findings to relevant stakeholders.
8/10/10
NEMP StructureManagement Committee
Manager: Nick Schofield
Focus catchments
Wilsons Inlet
Upper Namoi
Fitzroy (Qld)
Goulburn-Broken
39 projects $2m from
funders ($4m total)
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Eutrophication IssuesSources and bioavailability of phosphorus
Role of nitrogen (N) and micro-nutrients
Role of stratification and flow, and light
Role of sediments
Estuaries, reservoirs and rivers
8/10/10
NEMP AchievementsNew knowledge (including non-NEMP
research)
Nitrogen is equally important to phosphorus in controlling algal growth in the Murray–Darling Basin, and possibly elsewhere.
Light, not nutrients, is commonly the controlling factor in inland rivers
Bioavailable fraction of phosphorus is roughly equal from dryland, irrigation and sewage-treatment plant sources
Phosphorus can travel through subsoil pathways, bypassing surface interception measures
Review article illustrated how Australian eutrophication differs, within a universal framework
Eutrophication in Australian Rivers... Hydrobiologia 2006 559:23-76
8/10/10
Management OutcomesMajor management implications from findings
Some management methods
Reservoir bio-manipulation
Rapid bio-available phosphorus assay
Sediment control in sub-tropical rivers
Focus catchments benefitted – especially Wilson’s Inlet
Results not always easily transferable without local studies
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Second Outline Level
Third Outline LevelFourth Outline Level Fifth Outline Level
Sixth Outline Level
Seventh Outline Level
Eighth Outline Level
Ninth Outline LevelClick to edit Master text styles
Second level
Third level
Fourth level
Fifth level
8/10/10
Communication and Uptake
Basin Plan will be measure of uptake
Built communications between disparate researchers and managers
Shifted attention away from just phosphorus control
Reinstated importance of flow management, in regulated rivers
Greater attention to water quality and nutrient control including sediments
8/10/10
Environmental Water ProvisionEffects of drought apparent
1994 COAG Agreement failed to achieve environmental water outcomes
2004 National Water Initiative
Environmental water restricted by knowledge
8/10/10
Environmental Water Allocation Program 2004-2009Scope – national but MDB emphasis
Objectives
Better managing developed systems. Knowledge is not the limitation: need to demonstrate and improve the ecological outcomes produced from environmental allocations.
Understanding undeveloped ecosystems. Limited knowledge ephemeral and monsoonal rivers, groundwater dependent ecosystems and estuaries.
8/10/10
EWA Structure$4m over 5 years
Commonwealth agency Program Management Committee
Managers: Ian Prosser, Tom Aldred, Jim Donaldson
12 projects
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EWA AchievementsAustralia already had strong body of research
Communication products – Fact Sheets – widely distributed
Even so, management uptake
Environmental water buybacks study
Toolbox for GDEs
Water needs of fish in Daly river
Support for CLLAMM
8/10/10
RetrospectiveProgram planning for NEMP and EWA set
scene
Focus catchment engagement excellent
Scientists collaborated very well – not routine in 1995
$2m and $4m were stretched very far – but good outcomes
Maybe better payoffs with institutional, economic and social research
Australia leader in K&A; but needed even more emphasis on engagement and client readiness
Always long-term benefits are difficult to discern influence
8/10/10
Technical eutrophication topics in review paper
Environmental water provisions is the laggard of reform – lack of knowledge is a key impediment
EWA and eutrophication need to be treated together
Changes in flow patterns causes algal blooms, blackwater events, ASS
Poor water quality affects fit-for-purpose water
Being able to predict ecosystem outcomes of flows is the holy grail
Technical eutrophication topics in review paperEnvironmental water provisions is the laggard of reform – lack of knowledge is a key impedimentEWA and eutrophication need to be treated together
Changes in flow patterns causes algal blooms, blackwater events, ASSPoor water quality affects fit-for-purpose waterBeing able to predict ecosystem outcomes of flows is the holy grail