More than 2000 natural wetlands, covering approximately 86,000 hectares have been recorded in the Goulburn Broken Catchment. These wetlands include large permanent lakes, floodplain billabongs, small spring soaks, alpine bogs and shallow freshwater depressions.
The filling and drying cycles of many of these wetlands have been impacted by levees, floodplain development, stream regulation, surface and groundwater extraction and land clearing. This has had a significant effect on their health and functioning and the native plants and animals that depend upon them for short and long term survival.
Environmental flows are currently delivered to the following natural wetlands in the catchment (excluding Barmah Forest). These are:
Moodie Swamp: A 180 hectare cane grass wetland on the upper Broken Creek floodplain.
Reedy Swamp: A 130 hectare wetland on the urban fringe north of Shepparton.
Doctors Swamp: A 200 hectare red gum swamp near Murchison.
Kinnairds Wetland: A 96 hectare red gum swamp east of Numurkah at the southern end of the Muckatah depression
Black Swamp: A 16.5 hectare red gum swamp east of Wunghnu on the Nine Mile Creek floodplain.
Horeseshoe Lagoon: A 20 hectare channel of the Goulburn River near Trawool.
Gaynor Swamp: A 303 hectare cane grass dominated swamp near Corop.
Loch Garry: A 680 hecatre wetland on the Goulburn River floodplain north of Shepparton.
Priority watering actions include:
- Filling the wetlands to variable depths in autumn and spring to:
- improve the diversity of wetland vegetation communities
- provide breeding and feeding habitat for waterbirds and frogs
- maintain populations of threatened plant species including rigid water milfoil and river swamp wallaby-grass.
- Maintaining wetland water levels in spring and early summer so breeding waterbirds don’t abandon their nests.
- Promoting wetland drying in summer to maintain vegetation communities
To find out more about how acoustics are helping us monitor the effectiveness of environmental water deliveries to wetlands, click here.
More information regarding proposed watering actions for the Goulburn Broken Wetlands can be obtained by contacting the GB CMA.