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Water for the environment

IMEF in the Future

The Integrated Monitoring of Environmental Flows (IMEF) is an ongoing project that aims to estimate the benefits of the environmental flow rules in the major regulated rivers and the Barwon-Darling River. It is not intended to continually produce annual or biennial reports like the IMEF 98-00 State Report. The next state report is planned to encompass the first 5 full years of IMEF (1998-2004).

Between state-wide reports, and to facilitate faster production and dissemination, future reports from the program will be written up as either individual studies or as part of a hypothesis report. These will be completed at times when sufficient data is available to adequately assess the effects of environmental flows and at a frequency sufficient to ensure regular reporting of each study. Reports being currently written up include:

Environmental flows and the resetting of biofilms in the Murrumbidgee Valley, Final Report
Algal bloom suppression in the Barwon-Darling River, 1998-2003
Effects of Environmental flows on fish recruitment in NSW
Suppression and flushing of diatom blooms in the Hunter River 1998-2003
IMEF in the wetlands of the Lachlan.

For further information contact:
Dr. Patrick Driver
Science and Information Branch
Department of Water and Energy
PO Box 136 / 9 Spring St
Forbes NSW 2871
Ph: 02 6850 2817
Fax: 02 6852 3419
Patrick.Driver@dnr.nsw.gov.au

	Chambers were use to measure photosynthesis and respiration rates of biofilms on rocks in the Murrumbidgee
	Collecting bugs (macroinvertebrates) associated with biofilms in the Murrumbidgee River downstream of Burrinjuck Dam.
	Low flows in the Barwon-Darling River are known to promote algal blooms. Environmental water provisions may suppress the occurrence of algal blooms