Comprising seven projects, the Hawkesbury Nepean River Recovery Program (HNRRP) aims to improve river health by making more water available for environmental flows and reducing nutrient inputs to the river system. The seven projects have come a long way since commencing last year. You can read about their progress in the HNRRP e-news December 2010.
The world’s rivers, the single largest renewable water resource for humans and a crucible of aquatic biodiversity, are in a crisis of ominous proportions, according to a new global analysis. The report, published 30 September in the journal Nature, is the first to simultaneously account for the effects of such things as pollution, dam building, agricultural runoff, the conversion of wetlands and the introduction of exotic species on the health of the world’s rivers. Read more in ScienceDaily (Sep. 29, 2010) – World’s Rivers in ‘Crisis State’, Report Finds.
Managing our rivers has revolved around altering the movement of water – obviously through dams, extraction for irrigation, mining, water supplies, industry and water transfers and more cryptically when we consider groundwater use, virtual water, water sensitive urban design, water recycling and adjustments to environmental flows.
The 13th International Riversymposium (Perth 11-14 October 2010) will bring together a diverse audience for interactive and vibrant discussion. If you are interested in rivers, you can’t afford to miss it! Read the rest of this entry »
In response to the New South Wales (NSW) Government Metropolitan Water Plan the NSW Department of Natural Resources coordinated the development of new environmental flow rules for the Shoalhaven River downstream of Tallowa Dam. The approach taken to determine the environmental flow requirements for the Shoalhaven River downstream of Tallowa Dam involved assessing the water needs of the river’s complete ecosystem, including its main river channel, river banks, estuary and important ecological features, such as rare and endangered species. Read the rest of this entry »