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DWE Home > Home > Water Management > Water for the environment > Environmental monitoring > Macquarie Marshes Strategic Compliance Project

Water for the environment

Strategic compliance project in the Macquarie Valley

The NSW Wetland Recovery Program which is jointly funded by the NSW Government and the Australian Government's Water Smart Australia programme has granted $400,000 to the NSW Department of Water and Energy to undertake a strategic compliance project in the Macquarie Marshes during 2008 and 2009.

This important work will give us a better understanding of water movement within the Marshes, including the impacts of water diversions on downstream users and the environment.

The Department of Water and Energy has previously conducted a targeted compliance operation into suspected illegal structures within the Marshes and found that the majority of structures investigated were licensed and being operated legally.  There are however, a number of structures which appear to be unlawful, and this project will investigate this situation.

The aim of the project

The principal aim of the project is to identify structures that impact on the delivery and effectiveness of environmental flows and to determine whether such structures are authorised and are operating within conditions.  For those structures that are not authorised, appropriate compliance action will be undertaken.  For those structures that are authorised but are impacting on flows, steps will be taken to determine how these structures could be modified and/or managed to ensure environmental flows are delivered to targeted wetland assets.

When we regulate the flow of water through dams and weirs, or take water from rivers and wetlands, we affect the plants and animals that rely on natural water flows and alter the periods of drought. Wetlands are important to animals, plants, people and the natural environment.

The scope of the project

The Project will encompass the area of the Macquarie Marshes, which commence in the south at Marebone Weir 50 kilometres north of Warren and extend north a further 100 kilometres until the many channels join into a single defined channel near Carinda. Major distributary channels include the Bulgeraga, Monkeygar, Buckiinguy and Terrigal Creeks and the Gum and Long Plain Cowals, Marebone and Oxley Breaks and the Bora Channel as well as the Macquarie River. The southern Marshes consist of a series of individual wetland systems, including Back, Buckiinguy, Monkey and Monkeygar Swamps and Mole Marsh.

The timeframe of the project

The Project will run from January 2008 through to mid 2009. The Project will establish a process for assessing and prioritising structures for compliance action, so that compliance investigation and action can continue beyond the life of the Project. Experts including geomorphologists and wetland ecologists will determine whether a particular structure is having an impact on flows.

The participants of the project

The Project is being delivered by the Department of Water and Energy in partnership with:

Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts
The role of the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts is to provide the Australian Government with policy advice and program management, which protects or promotes the protection of the environment and Australia's heritage.

The Department is committed to conserving, repairing and promoting the wise use of wetlands across Australia. The department does this with other governments, non-government organisations and the community by developing and implementing the best possible management of Australia's wetlands.

The Department also works with state and territory governments to implement Australia's obligations under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and promotes the principles of the Ramsar Convention within the Asia-Pacific and Oceania regions.

NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change
The Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) is responsible for protecting and conserving biodiversity, including threatened species, in NSW. Biodiversity is the variety of all life forms: different plants (from lichens and mosses to shrubs and trees), animals (invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals) and their environments in national parks and reserves, marine parks and aquatic reserves, as well as on private and other public land. DECC is also responsible for purchasing water from willing sellers for the benefit of targeted wetlands and river systems.

NSW Department of Primary Industries
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is responsible for the protection and conservation of aquatic habitats by administering the Fisheries Management Act to control certain activities impacting on aquatic habitats. This includes reviewing development and works proposals that may impact on aquatic habitats to ensure they meet the requirements of the Act.

The Department is also responsible for ensuring aquatic habitat protection requirements are incorporated into other natural resource management planning processes, such as land use, water management and estuary and floodplain management planning.

Data collection processes 

The Project will use available scientific and technical information and tools to inform compliance action within the project.  This will include the knowledge and experience of an expert panel including wetland ecologists and geomorphologists and will involve the use of satellite imagery, aerial photography and direct observation.

The project phases

During the life of this Project, it will not be possible to address all structures that are having an impact on environmental flows. Firstly, it will be necessary to identify and assess the structures that are currently known to be impacting on the delivery of environmental flows and prioritise these for action.  An expert panel will develop decision criteria to prioritise these structures for compliance investigation.  Field inspections will be undertaken to determine the impacts of the structures, and where applicable determine the impacts of removal or modification of the structures.

Additional information

What are the benefits of the Macquarie Marshes?

The Macquarie Marshes are one of the largest semi-permanent wetlands in south-eastern Australia, historically covering more than 150,000 hectares (ha) during large flooding events. Parts of the Marshes are listed on or under the:

• International Ramsar Convention (18,143 ha),
• National Trust as a Landscape Conservation Area (148,000 ha),
• Australian Heritage Commission's register of the National Estate (148,000 ha), and
• Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.

The functions and services provided by the Macquarie Marshes wetlands are many and varied.  The wetlands support high levels of biological diversity and are therefore important on local, regional, national and international scales.  The values of the Marshes are numerous, including rich flora and fauna, prime cattle grazing lands, water bird breeding colonies, and natural filtering of nutrients.

What are the threats to the Macquarie Marshes?

The wetlands are subject to many pressures that result in their loss or degradation. These pressures may affect them directly or indirectly and it is therefore important to consider the threats to wetlands in the context of the entire catchment. With their location at the margins between land and water, wetlands are very sensitive to changes in both water and land management.

Over a number of decades, an unknown number of unlicensed structures have been built in the Macquarie Marshes.  These structures may impact on the volume and or distribution of water flowing to and through the Marshes. 

The environmental water allocation under the Water Sharing Plan for the Macquarie and Cudgegong Regulated River Water Source (WSP) may be impeded by these structures and requires a comprehensive analysis of the positive and negative impacts of structures on water distribution.

What is the benefit of environmental water provisions for the Macquarie Marshes?

The environmental water provisions in the WSP are designed to mimic natural flow patterns or events as much as possible so as to provide water when and where it will best meet environmental needs. 

The Macquarie and Cudgegong Rivers form a complex system that delivers water for industry, agriculture, recreation and domestic use, while striving to support natural processes and significant wetland systems.

The river systems and their associated wetlands and floodplains have changed significantly from their natural state and there is evidence of increasing environmental stress within the system. For example, changes in flow volume and seasonality have led to a decline in floodplain vegetation communities and a reduction in breeding opportunities for wildlife populations, particularly waterbirds.

The NSW Government is committed to water resource conservation and the environment as seen in the recently announced: Draft floodplain harvesting policy.