Wimmera Water for the Environment UpdateRivers, creeks and other water bodies are fundamental to the health and vitality of the region
The text from this update appears below for ease of reading.
 MonitoringHow do we know if a waterway is living up to environmental and community expectations? What can waterways tell us about the landscape?These are key questions Wimmera CMA seeks to answer by keeping a close eye on what’s happening in our waterways through constant monitoring and sample analysis. This is to maintain an understanding of our waterways in changing seasonal and environmental circumstances. It also helps understand how water for the environment can be best managed. Monitoring can be broad, but also targeted, to understand very specific triggers, events or influences.Fish-spawningWhen we notice something new, what do we do? We monitor!
What? Anecdotally, natural flows prompted a golden perch fish spawning event in November 2023.
Where? Below Horsham weir pool.
How? Monitor fish downstream of spawning event with electrofishing.
Why? Can we stimulate fish breeding events that increase native fish numbers in the Wimmera River using water for the environment?
Results so farDuring a small-scale electro-fishing survey we found eight juvenile golden perch (yellowbelly) including two likely ‘young-of-year’ (less than one year old) downstream of Horsham Weir. Further monitoring will confirm the magnitude and success of the fish spawning event.
Monitoring tools include:- Gauges to observe volumes of water travelling past a certain point
- Electrical-conductivity meters to measure salinity
- Electrofishing and nets to capture and identify fish
- Vegetation ‘quadrants’ to measure how much of a particular native plant is emerging near a river or wetland
Winter FlowsDue to rain events creating natural flows, we have stopped water for the environment.
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