Part Of One Of Australia's Longest Rivers - The Murrimbidgee - Lost More Than 1/2 Of Its Water In 30 Years

A section of one of Australia’s longest rivers, the Murrumbidgee, lost more than half of its water over a 30-year period due to dams and other diversions, according to new research. Scientists at the University of New South Wales examined the impacts of dam infrastructure and irrigation on natural water flows in the lower Murrumbidgee River since 1890.

Research published in the Journal of Environmental Management found that these diversions, as well as increased water use by the city of Canberra, reduced water flows at Hay, in south-western NSW, by 43% from 1958 to 2018. In the 30 years from 1988 to 2018, the reductions were more pronounced at 55%.

The researchers said the most severe impacts from the decline in water flows were on the Lowbidgee flood plain, the river’s largest wetland, which depends on regular flooding to thrive. “The Lowbidgee Floodplain depends on regular inundation,” said Jan Kreibich, a PhD candidate at UNSW who led the study. “Without it, entire ecosystems are collapsing.”

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Bradley Clarke-Wood, the wetland birds coordinator at BirdLife Australia, said the findings reflected what conservationists had seen on the ground. “As a part of our regular waterbird monitoring, we have seen declines in the abundance of key wetland species as a result of reduced wetland inundation,” he said. He said waterbirds relied on wetlands for reproduction – and the success of that reproduction was dependent on the amount of water and the duration of flood events. “Any reduction in that means the next generation of birds are under a lot of pressure and have limited capacity for success,” he said.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/07/ecosystems-are-collapsing-one-of-australias-longest-rivers-has-lost-more-than-half-its-water-in-one-section-research-shows