Flow-MER is the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s on-ground monitoring, evaluation and research program, working with scientists, water managers, communities and First Nations across the Murray-Darling Basin to help understand how fish, birds, vegetation and river connectivity respond to water for the environment.
The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, as the local partner in the program, will work with river scientists and researchers to design and implement the program.
Goulburn Broken CMA environmental water manager Simon Casanelia said water for the environment was set aside by the CEWH and released from Lake Eildon at relevant times of the year.
“This water is used to keep native plants healthy and support feeding and breeding of native animals such as platypus, fish and birds,” Mr Casanelia said.
“Releases of water for the environment are designed to mimic natural flows that would have occurred before the river was dammed and regulated. By providing this water we do our bit to help replicate natural flows.”
The new phase of the Flow-MER program, which the Goulburn Broken CMA is involved in, is expanded to include responsive monitoring and research in the Broken Creek and the Broken, Loddon and Campaspe rivers, as well as continued monitoring in the Goulburn River, in an area dubbed the Goulburn River and Northern Victorian Tributaries (GRANT).
There are a total of 10 areas included in the expanded Flow-MER program across the Murray-Darling Basin.
Local activities to be undertaken as part of the program will include monitoring fish abundance and diversity and the condition of riverbanks and riverbank vegetation.
Research and monitoring of environmental water under the Flow-MER program has been conducted on the Goulburn River since 2014.
This expanded phase of the program runs from mid 2024 to 2029, and will include a strong focus on active First Nations’ participation.
Other partners in the GRANT Area Flow-MER project are North Central CMA; Melbourne, Monash and RMIT universities; the Arthur Rylah Institute, Streamology and Jacobs.
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Simon Banks said partnerships were critical to achieving the best environmental outcomes with environmental water.
For more information, go to: https://flow-mer.org.au/selected-area-lower-goulburn-river/ and https://www.dcceew.gov.au/cewh/manage-water/science-monitoring/science-programs
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