Long term goals – Victorian rivers

Every year, we focus on meeting specific environmental demands in the Victorian rivers. These priorities align to our broader environmental objectives for the region.

Environmental objectives in the Victorian rivers

We have the following environmental objectives in the Victorian rivers. These are our longer-term goals for the region.

Objectives in the Victorian river valleys can differ between the rivers and creeks and the wetlands.

Rivers and creeks include:

• Goulburn River (lower and middle reaches)
• Broken River
• Campaspe River
• Loddon River
• Ovens River
• Wimmera River
• Upper and lower Broken Creek.

Wetlands include:

• Goulburn River wetlands
• Lower Broken wetlands
• Upper Broken Creek wetlands (Moodie Swamp)
• Ovens wetlands (Mullinmur Billabong).

Plants

Rivers and creeks

• Improve the condition of plants growing along the river banks and in the channel. This includes increasing the extent, health and diversity of plant species.
• Increase growth periods for flood-tolerant plants that line the river channel.

Wetlands

Maintain the current area, health and diversity of water-dependent plants. This includes improving the condition of:

• black box
• river red gum
• lignum shrublands.

We also aim to improve the recruitment of trees within Black box and river red gum communities.

Waterbirds

Rivers and creeks

• Provide habitat and food to support waterbirds throughout their lifecycle.
• We also aim to maintain the health and diversity of waterbird species.

Wetlands

Support waterbird breeding, including brolga in Moodie Swamp.

Fish

Rivers and creeks

• Use flows to provide habitat and food for native fish. This will promote increased movement, breeding, recruitment, and survival of native fish.
• Improve the number and diversity of fish species.

Wetlands

Add to flows that provide fish with habitat and food. This will help increase fish movement, recruitment and survival, especially those that live in floodplains.

Invertebrates and vertebrates

Create habitat to support increased survival, diversity, numbers and health of:

• Macroinvertebrates – aquatic organisms without a backbone that you can see with the naked eye.
• Microinvertebrates – tiny organisms that you need a microscope to see.

Provide habitat and food to support the survival of:

• frogs
• turtles
• platypus
• native water rats (Rakali).

Maintain the health of these animals and provide them with opportunities to recruit.

Connectivity

Rivers and creeks

Boost flows between the Victorian rivers and River Murray. This supports environmental functions such as:

• nutrient and sediment transport
• organism dispersal
• water quality.

Boost flows that connect low-lying wetlands and anabranches to the river channel.

Wetlands

Connect wetlands and floodplains by increasing the number of lowland floodplain flows.

Processes, water quality and resilience

Rivers and creeks

Promote key ecosystem functions, including supporting:

• primary productivity
• sediment, nutrient and carbon transport and cycling
• biotic dispersal and movement
• channel maintenance.

We also aim to reduce erosion and mass failure, and reintroduce sediments and seeds.

Maintain water quality and create refuge areas for plants and animals during periods of poor-quality water, that may be caused by:

• low-oxygen water events
• hyper-salinity events.

This involves reducing the build up of Azolla (aquatic plant) in lower Broken Creek to help maintain dissolved oxygen levels.

Create refuge areas for plants and animals during drought.

Wetlands

Support flushing nutrients and carbon from floodplains into river channels and downstream.

About environmental objectives

Environmental goals in the Victorian rivers are based on:

• long-term environmental objectives in the Basin Plan
• Victorian state government long-term watering plans
• site management plans
• local ecological knowledge.

Environmental goals can change each year based on factors like:

• availability of water
• catchment conditions
• feasibility of operations
• demand for water.

We will keep updating these goals as part of our commitment to adaptive management.