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Restoring the Snowy

By Joel Tozer - posted Tuesday, 29 December 2009


Environmentalists’ working on the banks of the Snowy River say the once mighty river is regenerating after years of neglect. Flat sheets of sediment are prickling with signs of new life and the community can finally see the physical changes. But campaigners fighting to restore the river say the legislation that promises increased water flows is not legally binding.

The Snowy River is said to be one of three most important rivers internationally, with a long history of threatening processes and interventions. At the completion of the Jindabyne Dam wall in 1967, the river was left with 1 per cent of its annual natural flow.

Enormous amounts of immobile sediment filled the river channel, creating a hostile environment that became a breeding ground for willows, blackberries and other noxious plants. These threats not only destroyed the natural habitat, but the willows in particular acted as a water pump that removed copious amounts of water from the river.

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In the last decade, the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, a New South Wales Government initiative, has undertaken a “killing phase” to remove many of these physical threats. Brett Miners, landscape manager of the project, says the rehabilitation initiative has seen the reintroduction of 200,000 Australian Bass as well as the planting of thousands of native plants along the banks of the river.

“This means as we continue to rehabilitate the river, and engage communities in the rehabilitation of the river, at least people can see that the river is not going backwards,” said Miners.

In a state where 74 per cent of the land is in drought, many rivers across NSW are currently experiencing heavy restrictions on water flows. With hotter and drier conditions predicted there is increasing uncertainty in communities that depend on regular water patterns. It is a bitter sweet moment for a national icon that spans more than 300km, winding from Jindabyne in south-east NSW, piercing the Victorian border before it is emptied into the Bass Strait.

Locals say the river has the potential to generate more that $21 million in economic activity per year, which would certainly make its mark on the money that has been channelled into restoring the river.

In 2002, the Commonwealth, Victorian and NSW Governments made a commitment to return 21 per cent of the rivers annual natural flow by 2012, and 28 per cent thereafter. The intergovernmental investment has had more than $400 million thrown at it to secure water savings that, one would hope, will eventually be transferred into the Snowy River increased flows account.

The Snowy River Alliance, a longstanding river campaign group, recently sought legal advice from the Environmental Defenders Office that says the “open-ended legislation” that promises increased water flows for the Snowy imposes no legal obligation on the NSW government or Snowy Hydro Ltd to meet the water targets for 2012.

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John Gallard, chair of the Alliance said:

We are seeking to use the current Five Year Review process as a way of changing the legislation into a more binding set of agreements …

The use of the open-ended legislation is the cause of most of the [current] problems. What we are talking about is connectivity of water from the snow melt to the sea, which is being held up by the Jindabyne Dam and Mowamba weir. This [connectivity] is critical to the whole biology of the river system and river dynamics.

The “First Five Year Review of the Snowy Hydro Water Licence” from the NSW Government, apart from being two years late, indicates that it will continue diverting water from the Snowy. The report comes amid recommendations from the NSW government’s elected Snowy Scientific Committee, which indicates that the river is closer to systemic failure than ever.

Released in September 2008, the report states that:

… flows down the Snowy River from the [Jindabyne] dam have not been adequate for habitat and channel maintenance, have not provided normal stream conditions for stream fauna, and have not delivered any discernable lateral connectivity.

Rachel Siewert, Greens Spokesperson for Water urged the Senate in late November to delay the review by six months:

The long-term survival of the Snowy River depends on an effective Snowy Water Licence that delivers the best environmental outcomes. These decisions must be made during the current Review to avoid significant environmental and economic costs.

The “Final Report” on the Snowy River was published without consultation with the Victorian government and Commonwealth. Craig Ingram, Independent member for East Gippsland said of the review:

A number of minor licence changes have been proposed, but none relevant with increased flows for the Snowy River, which under the NSW legislation was the only real issue the first major review of the licence was required to investigate.

Snowy Hydro Ltd is advised by the NSW Water Administration Ministerial Corporation on the amount of water flows to be released. Brett Miners said that despite current criticism from local campaigners, the current environmental flows are not a waste of water. “The [current] environmental flows … are doing some good and are laying the groundwork for some really good things to occur once the full environmental flows are available,” Miners said.

When asked to comment on the companies’ commitment to meet future water targets, David Hogan, manager of public relations for Snowy Hydro Ltd refused comment. Mr Hogan said that the company has refused media interviews on the Snowy River for two years (forgetting the recent interview on ABC’s AM Radio). The unwillingness of Snowy Hydro Ltd to engage in public debate not only leaves future water targets open-ended, but also puts the trust of a local community at risk.

Part of the great attraction for restoring the Snowy River, beyond its popular link with the television film The Man from Snowy River, is to see the spirit of a once wild waterway be brought back to life.

With the return of more than a quarter of its annual natural water flow beyond 2012, scientists would be able to use the existing data of environmental flows, which includes two years of “pre-intervention” data to approach river management right across the globe.

The social implications of an unhealthy river are far reaching. Beyond millions of taxpayer’s dollars being wasted, the water supply of local towns such as Dalgety in southeast NSW is at stake. Meeting the environmental flow targets for the Snowy would see the return of a dynamic river system and an opportunity for the NSW and Victorian government to take a leading role in river management.

“We want to see the minimum scientifically recommended 28 per cent environmental flows as the ultimate goal for restoring the Snowy to health,” said John Gallard.

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About the Author

Joel Tozer is a Sydney-based freelance journalist.

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