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More than mitigation:

More than mitigation:. Using irrigation modernisation to improve ecological resilience Chris Solum (NVIRP) Emer Campbell (North Central CMA) Co-author. Overview. What is NVIRP? What exactly is the problem here? How are we managing this problem? How did we get here?

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More than mitigation:

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  1. More than mitigation: Using irrigation modernisation to improve ecological resilience Chris Solum (NVIRP) Emer Campbell (North Central CMA) Co-author

  2. Overview • What is NVIRP? • What exactly is the problem here? • How are we managing this problem? • How did we get here? • A lot of help from our friends • Summary

  3. What is NVIRP?

  4. It’s this

  5. Source: G&M Poly PTY LTD

  6. NVIRP Works Area

  7. But is it this?

  8. What’s the problem? • Big projects need to deal with their environmental impacts • In our case that means mitigating ecological impacts arising from hydrological changes • Can we do better than that?

  9. So what was the solution?

  10. Environmental Watering Plans • Ecological baseline hard to measure • Develop ecological objectives • Set a water regime to meet those objectives • Use local and specialist expertise • Resilience boundaries identified (how long can a wetland withstand being dry or wet without impacts to function) • Determine volume of water required • Bathymetric surveys & daily time-step model for wetlands. • Flow study for waterways

  11. Environmental Watering Plans • Assess hydrological impacts against preferred water regime • Findings reviewed by an expert panel and approved by Victorian Minister for Water, Federal Minister for Environment. Outcome: An impact assessment that doubles as a high quality management plan

  12. Mitigation Water • Was the previous operation good or bad? • Set aside volume of beneficial water • New entitlement type -> dedicated to env. Outcome: Impacts mitigated and water delivered when the environment actually needs it -> resilience improved

  13. Environmental Infrastructure • Project is decommissioning circa 50% channels • Some channels are needed for env. Flows • Solution -> treat env. as a customer • We pay to reconnect plus O&M costs • Enhance supply infrastructure where practicable Outcome: Env. water delivery assured, costs covered, water delivery better suited to ecological objectives

  14. So how did we get here? • We didn’t have these outcomes in mind in the beginning • No local precedents but lots of local knowledge • A need to cover off legislative requirements

  15. Environmental Technical Advisory Committee • Agency-based • Empowered to fulfill role • Expectation of representing view of respective organisations • Works to develop solutions to problems that everyone can live with

  16. Risk assessment - narrowing the field of view • Legislative requirements – EPBC Act, EE Act • Looked at possible impact pathways such as direct and indirect flows to environment and evidence of high environmental value • Also looked at more abstract regional/cumulative impacts • Reduced potential sites from 1100+ wetlands and 20+ waterways down to 9 wetlands and 3 waterways ‘at-risk’

  17. Development of a guiding framework • Developed by NVIRP to be consistent with negotiated outcomes by ETAC • Covers off on all described earlier and more • Consistent methodology • Sets out agreed roles and responsibilities • Jargon alert! – It’s adaptive

  18. Development of a guiding framework • Developed by NVIRP to be consistent with negotiated outcomes by ETAC • Covers off on all described earlier and more • Consistent methodology • Sets out agreed roles and responsibilities • Buzzword alert! – It’s adaptive

  19. Key messages • Be kind to your friends • Listen to the experts and local practitioners • Don’t constrain the scope too early • Mitigating impacts is ok; improving ecological resilience better • The marginal cost difference between the two is often negligible

  20. Agency stakeholder acknowledgement • Environmental Technical Advisory Committee • North Central CMA (also wrote EWPs) • Goulburn-Broken CMA (also wrote EWP) • Goulburn-Murray Water • Dep. Sustainability and Environment • Dep. Primary Industries • Parks Victoria.

  21. Consultant acknowledgement • Sinclair Knight Merz (referrals, hydrology) • Hydro Environmental (short-listing ‘at-risk’ wetlands, groundwater impact assessment) • Feehan Consulting (short-listing ‘at-risk’ waterways, ongoing support) • Seran (framework development)

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