2021
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About the documents
The summary and technical reports present the 2020-21 results from the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office's Monitoring Evaluation Research (MER) Project in the Edward-Kolety-Wakool River system. The summary report focuses on the context and ecological responses to water for the environment. The technical report provides detailed methods, analyses and results with management recommendations. Both reports evaluate the contribution water for the environment has made to environmental outcomes in 2020-21 in the Edward-Kolety-Wakool River system, complementing monitoring and evaluation under the Long-Term Intervention Project (2014-19) and MER Program.
The 2020-21 results identified several key environmental outcomes in 2020-21, including:
- The 800 ML/day flow trial did not result in any adverse water quality outcomes.
- Flows maintained the variety of riverbank and aquatic plants found in the system.
- Flows maintained connections between rivers and creeks across the system.
- There was no evidence of local golden or silver perch spawning in the Wakool River or Yallakool Creek.
- A higher number of silver perch, of nearly all sizes, were present in 2021 compared with previous years.
- Strong spawning and recruitment of flathead gudgeon were recorded in 2020-21.
- Despite low catch rates of Murray cod larvae in 2020-21, follow up monitoring in summer 2021 captured very young cod in similar numbers to those caught in 2019-20.
The reports also provide information on the findings from the following two MER research projects:
Turtle research: How does connectivity of wetlands along the Edward/Kolety River affect turtle distribution, movement, and body condition?
The results of this project indicate that turtles that utilise wetlands on the floodplains of permanent river systems may be protected from winter wetland drying due to their behaviour of moving to the adjacent river to hibernate.
This project is also discussed in the Flow-MER article Tracking Turtles in the Edward Kolety River System.
Social science research - stakeholder attitudes to, and acceptance of, the concept and use of Commonwealth environmental water.
The results of this project indicate that there is a need to reduce the narrow scientific focus on water for the environment because people within the river system communities relate to all of the water in the system.
This project is also discussed in the Flow-MER presentation Stakeholder perspectives on using water for the environment in the Edward/Kolety-Wakool River system.