Living Murray

The Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth is one of six designated Icon Sites under The Living Murray initiative.

Each Icon Site has an Environmental Management Plan, the purpose of which is to provide the ecological objectives and water requirements of each site, and to provide the framework for delivering environmental flows.

As part of The Living Murray Initiative First Step Decision, the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council (MDBMC) established three broad ecological objectives for the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site. In order to achieve a healthier Lower Lakes and Coorong estuarine environment, these objectives are:

• An open Murray Mouth;
• Enhanced migratory water bird habitat in the Lower Lakes and Coorong; and
• More frequent estuarine fish spawning and recruitment.

Documents

The following documents relevant to the Living Murray and the CLLMM Icon Site are currently available:

• MDBC (2006). The Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site Environmental Management Plan 2006-2007.
• Maunsell Australia Pty Ltd (2009). The Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Icon Site Condition Monitoring Plan. Prepared for the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resource Management Board.
• DWLBC (2007). Interim Blueprint- Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth Icon Site.

Downloads of these publications are available through Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

Current Living Murray On-Ground Projects

Barrage Fishways

A small vertical slot fishway at the Pelican Point end of the Tauwitchere Barrage was installed in 2009. Existing fishways include vertical slots at Goolwa and Tauwitchere Barrages and a rock-ramp at Tauwitchere Barrage. A fishway has also been installed at the mouth of Hunters Creek on Hindmarsh Island.

Surface Water Monitoring Stations

Data from the permanent monitoring stations in the Lower Lakes and Coorong is available. New stations have been installed in the Finniss River and Currency Creek, and upgrades (i.e. the addition of pH, turbidity and wind sensors) have been made to existing monitoring stations.

On-Ground Works

Wetlands, floodplains and barrages have been prioritised in the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth and a report produced which determines the best areas to rehabilitate in order to gain the greatest benefits in terms of native fish, waterbirds and aquatic vegetation.

This report lead to the development of operational plans developed in the form of Hydrological Operation Guidelines for Hindmarsh Island (Taylor 2010), a Wetland Management Plan for Dunn's Lagoon (Taylor 2009a), a Schedule of Works for Tolderol Game Reserve (Taylor 2009b) and Milang Shores Wetland Management Plan (Taylor P 2009c).

On-ground works stemming from these plans include the Shadows Lagoon structure upgrade on Hindmarsh Island, soil seed bank trials into the viability of seed in Dunn's Lagoon and Shadow's Lagoon on Hindmarsh Island and a groundwater capture and release system installed in the Milang wetland.

Indigenous Engagement

The Living Murray Indigenous Facilitator for the Lower Lakes, Murray Mouth and Coorong Icon Site provides advice on, and supports the implementation of, the responsibilities and actions outlined in the Living Murray Business Plan, The Living Murray Indigenous Partnerships Project Plan and the Icon Site Environmental Management Plan including the ongoing implementation of protocols and processes that build effective partnerships between the Indigenous Nations people, responsible agencies and other interest groups.

Monitoring Programs

The following monitoring programs are funded through the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board’s (SA MDB NRM Board) Icon Site management program. Funding is sourced from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), and the SA MDB NRM Board’s Caring for Country regional allocation.

Past monitoring reports are available upon request.

Committees

The SA MDB NRM Board runs the following committees for the management of the CLLMM Icon Site:

CLLMM Scientific Advisory Group

This group consists of scientists and researchers from Flinders University, The University of Adelaide, CSIRO and SARDI Aquatic Sciences, and government officers from the SAMDBNRM Board, DWLBC, DEH and the EPA. The group’s role is to provide scientific advice in relation to management recommendations for the site, and to inform monitoring projects. The group is chaired by Judy Goode (SA MDB NRM Board), and meets six times/year.

CLLMM Community Reference Committee

This group consists of key community members/industry representatives from the Coorong and Lower Lakes region. Local officers from DEH, SA Water and the SA MDB NRM Board are also involved. The group is chaired by Bill Paterson, and meets four times/year.

Research

The most comprehensive research program to-date in the Icon Site is provided through the CLLAMM ecology research cluster. Many of the researchers from CLLAMM ecology are part of the CLLMM Icon Site Scientific Advisory Group.

The SA MDB NRM Board also contributes to the following research projects in the Icon Site:

• Habitat requirements, distribution and colonisation of the tubeworm Ficopomatus enigmaticus in the Lower Lakes and Coorong (Flinders University).
• The use of Ruppia sp. as an umbrella species to enhance Coorong and Lower Lakes restoration (Flinders University).
• Limestone toxicity trials in relation to hardydead fish species (University of Adelaide).
• Foodweb study of zooplankton and fish, in relation to environmental watering of Lower Lakes wetlands (University of Adelaide).
• Establishing baseline ecological conditions for the Lower Lakes, South Australia: the applications of palaeoecology to sustainable resource management (University of Adelaide).