Boorowa
Indicator: Riparian Conditions
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Boorowa
No quantitative information was available to assess changes the conditions of riparian areas within the Boorowa Council area during the current reporting period and the previous reporting period. During that period, six threatening processes which impact on riparian condition were listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, 1995 and the Fisheries Management Act, 1994.
It is not known if Council or community groups undertook any projects between July 2004 and June 2008 to rehabilitate riparian areas within the Council area.
Council and community groups undertook at least four projects between July 2000 and June 2004 to rehabilitate riparian areas within the Council area. However, updated information on these projects has not been provided for this reporting period.
Condition of riparian zones in the Council area
During the reporting period of 1996 to 2000, the majority of riparian vegetation for the Boorowa River and Waugoola Creek catchments was reported to be in a poor condition (OCE 2000). For the current reporting period and the previous reporting period the extent to which the condition of the riparian vegetation, channel modification and streambank disturbance have changed across the Council area is not known, no detailed information was available. Council however reported that during the previous reporting period there was no significant change in riparian condition.
Threats to riparian condition
Three processes relating to riparian condition have been listed as key threatening processes in the State (see Table 1) by the New South Wales (NSW) Scientific committee under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Fisheries Scientific Committee also listed, under the Fisheries Management Act 1994, three key threatening processes relevant to riparian areas.
| Name of threatening process | Date of Final Determination or Gazettal |
|---|---|
| Alteration to the natural flow regimes of rivers, streams, floodplains and wetlands (DECC, 2008a) | Final: 31 May 2002 |
| Clearing of Native Vegetation (DECC, 2008b) | Final: 21 September 2001 |
| Human-caused climate change (DECC, 2008c) | Gazetted: 17 November 2000 |
| Removal and degradation of native riparian vegetation (DPI, 2008a) | Final: 01 June 2005 |
| Installation and operation of instream structures and other mechanisms that alter the natural flow regimes of rivers and streams (DPI, 2008b) | Final: 01 June 2005 |
| Removal of large woody debris from NSW rivers and streams (DPI, 2008c) | Final: 01 June 2005 |
The impacts of these key threatening processes on riparian conditions and waterways include (DECC 2008 a, b; DPI 2008, a, b; DPI 2005a):
- bank erosion
- loss of biological diversity
- impairment of important ecosystem services for fish and invertebrates (e.g. removal of refuges used during flooding or drought or removal of spawning sites)
- reduced nutrient filtering capacity
- increased light penetration of the water-body and loss of shade and shelter for fish
- reduced inputs of organic carbon (for example, twigs and leaves)
- changes to stream behaviour (increased and decreased flow, seasonality, frequency, duration, magnitude, timing predictability, rate of rise and fall of water levels and altering surface and subsurface water levels)
- exotic plants such as Alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) reducing stream flow
What is being done to protect riparian zones?
During the previous reporting period community groups, Council and other organisations undertook various projects that enhanced riparian condition in the Council area. Information updating these projects or any new projects during the current reporting period was unavailable.
Boorowa Council is investigating the possibility of establishing a riparian zone around the Boorowa Weir water pool that serves as the town’s water supply. This is a long term project and will require the co-operation of all landholders bordering the weir pool.
There is no updated information on projects enhancing riparian condition in the Boorowa Council area.
Other nationally funded activities undertaken during the reporting period in the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority area may have enhanced riparian conditions within Boorowa Council area.
References
DECC – see Department of Environment and Climate Change
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) (2008a) NSW Scientific Committee—Final Determination, Alteration to the Natural Flow Regimes of Rivers, Streams, Floodplains and Wetlands—Key Threatening Process Declaration, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, viewed 14 October 2008, http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/profile.aspx?id=20002
Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW) (2008b) NSW Scientific Committee—Final Determination, Clearing of Native Vegetation—Key Threatening Process Declaration, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, viewed 14 October 2008-10-14 http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/ClearingNativeVegKTPListing.htm
Department of Primary Industries (NSW) (2008a) Removal of large woody debris from NSW rivers and streams, NSW Department of Primary Industries, viewed 10 October 2008, http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/habitat/publications/threats/removal-large-woody-debris
Department of Primary Industries (NSW) (2008b) Degradation of native riparian vegetation along NSW water courses, NSW Department of Primary Industries, viewed 10 October 2008, http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/habitat/publications/threats/degredation-native-riparian-vegetation
Department of Primary Industries (NSW) (2005a) Fisheries Scientific Committee Recommendation—Installation and Operation of Instream Structures and Other Mechanisms that Alter Natural Flow Regimes of Rivers and Streams, NSW Department of Primary Industries, viewed 11 August 2005, http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/5284/FR21_dams.pdf.
DPI – see Department of Primary Industries
OCE – see Office of the Commissioner of the Environment
Office of the Commissioner for the Environment (2004) Australian Capital Region State of the Environment Report 2004, Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, Canberra (see Riparian Condition).
