A trial water release in Werai Forest is showing that watering actions are key to looking after wetlands and improving river health.
Werai Forest wetland is an ecologically important part of the NSW Central Murray State Forest Ramsar site - a place of international importance. It's a refuge for plants and animals, including threatened species like the regent honeyeater, Murray cod and superb parrot.
A breeding ground, nursery and migration path for both fish and birds, the wetlands are culturally significant to First Nations people. Werai Forest was known as a place of plenty where First Nations people would gather perch, cod, crayfish, birds, eggs, reeds for basket/bag weaving and clean water.
However, river regulation has reduced the duration and frequency of water in the Werai Forest affecting the health of the forest ecosystem.
When the Edward-Kolety River is at a low level, without fresh flows entering the wetland the water begins to stagnate, and the oxygen levels drop. These conditions can lead to fish deaths, both in the immediate region and downstream.
Werai Forest was handed back to the Werai Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation in 2023. One of the goals of the Werai Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation is to bring the Werai Forest back to a state of natural abundance.
As a first step, a trial water release to the forest was conducted as a collaboration with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH), NSW Department of Climate Change, Environment, Energy, and Water and Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
The trial, carried out between 10 and 21 October, provided enough Commonwealth environmental water into the Edward-Kolety River (3,400 ML/day) to send water flows into Werai Forest.
When the wetland is inundated naturally, it supports the health of the wetland plants and trees, and the birds and other animals that live there. The growth of water plants also increases oxygen levels in the water and helps avoid fish deaths. It is hoped that this trial water release will have a similar effect.
As part of the CEWH's Science Program, Flow-MER, researchers at Charles Sturt University and Kolety Werkul Rangers from Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre are monitoring water flow going into and out of the wetland, as well as the responses of plants and water quality.
This trial will improve our understanding of the amount of water going into Werai Forest when the flow is raised in the Edward-Kolety River, and importantly how much water flows out the other end.
While it is impossible to achieve natural flow in a highly regulated river, the goal of water managers is to develop a flow regime that maintains and improves the wetland, bringing it closer to the natural condition in which it thrived for millennia.
