VEWH - Central Murray wetlands

The central Murray wetlands are almost wholly contained within the Torrumbarry Irrigation Area and are all wetlands of regional or international significance. The area has experienced dramatic changes since European settlement with the construction of levees, roads, and channels. Most of the wetlands are now cut off from natural flow paths and are rarely filled, except by large natural floods. They rely on water for the environment to maintain their ecological character and health.

Eleven of the central Murray wetlands can receive water for the environment from permanent infrastructure: Hird Swamp, Johnson Swamp, Kunat Kunat, Lake Cullen, Lake Elizabeth, Lake Murphy, McDonalds Swamp, Muringa wetlands, Richardson’s Lagoon, Third Reedy Lake, and the Wirra-Lo wetlands. Temporary pumps are currently used to deliver water for the environment from the Murray River to some semi-permanent wetlands in the Guttrum and Benwell forests when required. More permanent water delivery infrastructure for Guttrum and Benwell forests is proposed as part of the Victorian Murray Floodplain Restoration Project.

System map

Environmental watering objectives in the Central Murray wetlands

Maintain populations of small-bodied native fish, including listed threatened (species such as Murray hardyhead)

Maintain populations of the endangered growling grass frog
 Maintain populations of common native frogs (such as barking marsh frog, Peron’s tree frog and spotted grass frog)

Maintain populations of native turtles (such as the Murray River turtle and the common long-necked turtle)

Restore and then maintain the health of streamside trees (such as river red gum and black box)
 Restore and then maintain mudflat vegetation communities (such as tall marsh, herblands, rushes and sedges)
 Restore and then maintain native aquatic vegetation species (such as tassel, foxtail stonewort, milfoil and  pondweed)
 Reduce the extent and density of invasive plant species
 Support a mosaic of wetland plant communities across the region

 Provide resting, feeding and breeding habitat for a variety of waterbird feeding guilds, including threatened species  (such as Caspian tern, Australasian bittern, little bittern and brolga)

Increase the diversity and biomass of waterbugs

Environmental values

The central Murray wetlands support numerous listed threatened species ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered, including the Australasian bittern, Murray hardyhead, Australian painted snipe, growling grass frog, and the southern purple spotted gudgeon, which was presumed extinct in Victoria until it was found at Third Reedy Lake in spring 2019. When the wetlands receive environmental water, they can attract prolific birdlife and provide feeding and breeding habitat for many threatened and endangered bird species (including the eastern great egret and white-bellied sea eagle) listed under legislation and international agreements. Lake Cullen, Hird Swamp, Third Reedy Lake, and Johnson Swamp are internationally recognized under the Ramsar Convention, while the other wetlands in the central Murray system have bioregional significance.

Traditional Owner cultural values and uses

The wetlands and surrounding land in the central Murray region hold great significance for the Traditional Owners: the Barapa Barapa, Wamba Wemba, and Yorta Yorta peoples. Their traditional knowledge is a living culture evident throughout the landscape in tree markings, significant cultural sites, and cultural tools for cultural practices. The rivers and floodplains are a food and fibre source and contain many sites of significance (such as campsites and meeting places).

Environmental watering supports values including native fish, waterbirds and turtles, and it promotes the growth of culturally important plants that provide food, medicine and weaving materials for Traditional Owner groups. The presence of water itself can be a cultural value, as well as the quality of the water: healthy water promotes a healthy Country.

In early 2023, Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wemba Traditional Owners joined North Central CMA staff on Country to reflect on environmental water management in the central Murray wetlands, including plans for 2023-24. This included a day in Guttrum Forest and another day visiting Johnson Swamp, McDonalds Swamp, Third Reedy Lake and Lake Cullen. Topics of discussion included:

The impacts of the 2022-23 floods on the wetlands, both positive (such as healthy fringing trees and lignum) and negative (such as carp and hypoxic blackwater)
The proposed schedule for wetland watering and wetland drying in 2023-24; Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wemba Traditional Owners supported the plans for 2023-24 and noted that floods had provided an important ecological reset for many of the wetlands, and the proposed watering schedule will build on this
Aboriginal Waterways Assessments (AWAs) and the aspiration for Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wemba Traditional Owners to undertake AWAs at several of the central Murray wetlands in the future during wet and dry phases
The benefits that water for the environment has delivered to the wetlands over the years. Traditional Owners said that water delivery to Johnson Swamp, combined with tall marsh and lignum slashing, has created a more open-water environment that has attracted waterbirds. Similarly, Traditional Owners involved in tree planting at McDonalds Swamp in 2018 were impressed by the growth of the river red gums and the expansion of lignum and cane grass due to environmental watering
Concerns about the impact of duck hunting on waterbird numbers at several central Murray wetlands and concerns about rabbits harming culturally significant locations at Lake Cullen
Guttrum Forest (particularly Reed Bed Swamp) and the need to dry it out in the coming months to control carp and allow the removal of protective nets that have helped new vegetation establish. The plan is to deliver environmental water to Reed Bed Swamp in 2023-24 to build on the positive outcomes from previous years (such as the growth of aquatic vegetation and tree canopies)

Increasing the involvement of Traditional Owners in environmental water management and progressing opportunities towards self-determination in the environmental watering program is a core commitment of the VEWH and its agency partners. This is reinforced by a range of legislation and policy commitments, including the Water Act 1989, the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework, the 2016 Water for Victoria, the Water is Life: Traditional Owner Access to Water Roadmap 2022, and in some cases, agreements under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010.

Where Traditional Owners are more deeply involved in the planning and/or delivery of environmental flows for a particular site, their contribution is acknowledged in Table 5.2.10 with an icon. The use of this icon is not intended to indicate that these activities are meeting all the needs of Traditional Owners, but is incorporated in the spirit of valuing that contribution.

Watering planned and/or delivered in partnership with Traditional Owners to support cultural values and uses

Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wemba input to watering actions for Guttrum Forest in 2023-24

Delivery of water for the environment to Guttrum Forest during 2023-24 has been planned in conjunction with the Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wemba peoples, for whom the wetlands and surrounding forest are places of high cultural significance. Traditional Owners are an important part of Guttrum Forest planning and management and have been directly involved in the delivery of environmental flows to Reed Bed Swamp in 2019-20 and 2021-22. In 2022-23, no environmental water was delivered to Reed Bed Swamp due to large-scale natural flooding.

Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wemba collaborate with waterway managers to ensure that during watering events, their cultural heritage is protected and that the hydrological needs of important cultural values (such as food and medicinal plant species, scar trees and ring trees) are supported through the timing and duration of planned watering actions to the forest.

Table 5.2.9 outlines the values and uses considered in the planning for and management of water for the environment at Guttrum Forest in 2023-24.

Table 5.2.9 Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wemba cultural values and uses at Guttrum Forest

Value/use	Considerations
Food, fibre and medicinal plants	A winter/spring fill followed by top-ups, as required, will ensure that the duration of wetting will be long enough to support aquatic vegetation during its optimal growth period. Allowing the wetland to draw down before summer will also promote cultural plants on the mudflats in these areas. With annual watering in recent years and natural events like the October 2022 flood, harvesting cultural plants is likely to be possible within a matter of years.
Cultural heritage	Watering of Reed Bed Swamp supports fringing large old trees, including a couple of ring trees and scar trees. The condition of these trees was seen to improve following previous watering.
Spiritual wellbeing	The improvement in the condition of the wetland and the presence of water and moisture contribute to a sense of spiritual wellbeing.
Sharing cultural knowledge	The Traditional Owners provide support and advice about what ecological values to target: that is, they provide information about what the wetland used to look like and what values it previously supported. Traditional Owners have been present during the set-up of infrastructure and have been able to advise about avoiding impacts on their cultural heritage.
Employment opportunities	Traditional Owners want to become more involved in the management of their Country through increased employment opportunities (such as ecological and cultural monitoring). This has occurred as part of previous watering of Reed Bed Swamp.
Cultural landscape	Maintaining the open-water habitat and mudflats underneath will be difficult if the river red gum saplings that germinated in recent floods are not removed. This is important for maintaining the cultural landscape and access to food and medicinal resources.
Cultural practice	In 2019-20 when water for the environment was first delivered in Guttrum Forest, a smoking ceremony and celebration were held to welcome the water back to the wetland. The Traditional Owners have indicated that this should be a regular activity each year when water is delivered, as it is something that their ancestors would have done when the floodwaters arrived and would represent a restoration of an important cultural practice. Another priority in 2023-24 is to provide more opportunities for women to return to Country and undertake cultural practices such as weaving, emu egg carving and discussion of the wetlands’ health as it relates to women’s business.

Social, recreational and economic values and uses

In planning the potential environmental watering actions in Table 5.2.10, the North Central CMA considered how environmental flows could support values and uses, including:

waterway recreation (such as canoeing, fishing, kayaking, swimming and water sports)
waterway recreation and amenity (such as birdwatching, duck hunting, camping, cycling, running and walking)
community events and tourism (such as visitation during the hunting and fishing seasons, Breakfast with the Birds events [hosted annually by the North Central CMA] and supporting Aboriginal cultural heritage and history-based tours)
socioeconomic benefits (such as ecosystem services like groundwater recharge, flood mitigation, nutrient treatment, carbon storage and stock and domestic uses).

Scope of environmental watering

The term ‘environmental watering’ refers to the active delivery of held environmental water to support particular environmental objectives by altering the flow in a river or the water level in a wetland. While other terms are sometimes used to describe the delivery of environmental water, ‘environmental watering’ is deliberately used here and in seasonal watering statements to ensure consistency in the legal instruments that authorise the use of water for the environment in Victoria.

Table 5.2.10 describes the potential environmental watering actions in 2023-24, their expected watering effect (that is, the intended physical or biological effects of the watering action) and the longer-term environmental objectives they support. Each environmental objective relies on one or more potential environmental watering actions and their associated physical or biological effects.

Table 5.2.10 Potential environmental watering actions, expected watering effects and associated environmental objectives for the central Murray wetlands

Potential environmental watering action	Expected watering effects	Environmental objective
Guttrum Forest (fill in winter/spring, top-ups as required in spring/ summer)	Wet the fringing adult river red gums to support their growth and drown river red gum saplings within the wetland bed to maintain open-water habitat Promote the growth and re-establishment of aquatic vegetation and tall marsh vegetation at the fringe of the wetland Maintain the depth of the wetland to support frogs and waterbird feeding and breeding
Guttrum Forest (partial fill in autumn/winter 2024)	Inundate existing adult river red gums to support their growth, and drown river red gum saplings in the open-water habitat Increase the water depth and extent to trigger wetland plants to germinate in late winter and when follow-up watering is provided in early spring 2024 Provide feeding and refuge habitat for waterbirds and frogs
Hird Swamp (partial fill in autumn)	Drown terrestrial weeds to limit their growth and reduce their extent Promote the germination and establishment of aquatic vegetation Inundate the wetland fringe to provide habitat for waterbirds, frogs and turtles and provide conditions suitable for macroinvertebrates that are food for waterbirds
Kunat Kunat (fill in spring, top-ups as required)	Maintain salinity within 15,000-80,000 EC and water depth to support suitable habitat and breeding conditions for Murray hardyhead Restore and maintain submerged aquatic plants Maintain the water depth to provide permanent feeding, foraging and refuge habitat for waterbirds
Lake Cullen (top-ups as required)	Provide feeding, breeding and refuge habitat for waterbirds Inundate the wetland to provide suitable conditions for submerged plants Provide suitable conditions for macroinvertebrates to grow and complete their life cycles
Lake Elizabeth (fill in spring, top-ups as required)	Maintain salinity within 15,000-80,000 EC and water depth to support suitable habitat and breeding conditions for Murray hardyhead Restore and maintain submerged aquatic plants Maintain the water depth to provide permanent feeding, foraging and refuge habitat for waterbirds
McDonalds Swamp (partial fill in autumn)	Drown terrestrial weeds to limit their growth and reduce their extent Promote the germination and establishment of aquatic vegetation Inundate the wetland body and fringe to provide habitat for waterbirds, frogs and turtles and provide conditions suitable for macroinvertebrates that are food for waterbirds, frogs and turtles Support the growth of planted river red gums and other aquatic and herbland vegetation
Muringa wetlands (fill in spring or autumn, top-ups as required)	Support the growth of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants Increase the area of habitat and grow zooplankton and waterbug communities to provide food resources for frogs and waterbirds
Wirra-Lo wetlands¹ : Brolga Swamp (fill in winter/spring, top-ups as required)	Inundate established aquatic vegetation and maintain the large population of growling grass frogs
Wirra-Lo wetlands: Bunyip Swamp East (fill in winter/spring, top-ups as required)	Inundate established reed beds to stimulate their growth to create feeding and nesting habitat for Australasian bittern
Wirra-Lo wetlands: Cattleyard Creek (fill in winter/spring, top-ups as required)	Inundate river red gum woodland trees to promote their growth and improve their condition Promote the germination and establishment of aquatic vegetation
Wirra-Lo wetlands: Duck Creek North (fill in winter/spring, top-ups as required)	Inundate river red gum woodland trees to promote their growth and improve their condition Inundate the aquatic and herbland vegetation to promote its growth and increase its extent Maintain open-water and associated mudflat habitats for waterbirds to feed and breed
Wirra-Lo wetlands: Emu Creek (fill in winter/ spring, top-ups as required)	Inundate black box and lignum along the creekline to improve their condition Promote the germination and growth of aquatic vegetation in the deeper sections of the wetland to support frogs and freshwater turtles
Wirra-Lo wetlands: Red Gum Swamp (fill in winter/spring, top-ups as required)	Inundate established river red gum trees to promote their growth and maintain their condition Inundate habitat to provide feeding and breeding opportunities for frogs, waterbirds, and turtles

¹ Watering of the various wetlands within the Wirra-lo complex occurs via Raniformis Creek, which is likely to benefit the small-bodied native fish that live in the creek

Page last updated: 01/12/22