Healthy waterways review

In July, Friends of Merri Creek and Merri Creek Management Committee joined other stakeholders at Warrandyte to provide feedback on the mid-term review of Melbourne Water's Healthy Waterway Strategy 2018  - 2028. 

The review identified Water for the Environment and Stormwater as two measures that are either significantly off-track, or off-track, as far as the targets being achieved by 2028, are concerned.  Increased "reserve volume" is needed: i.e. water being allowed to infiltrate to restore groundwater storage and support greater baseline creek and river flows. Greater effort is needed to allow stormwater to either soak into the ground, or be harvested for other uses. This would lessen high stormwater peak flows and help to reduce the amount of sediment carried into waterways, such as Merri Creek. 

Two key values used to assess the health of the waterways managed by Melbourne Water are water bugs (macroinvertebrates) and platypus.  The future of platypus populations is closely linked to the health and diversity of macroinvertebrate populations.  Predictions are that both these key values are at risk of declining.  It is expected there will be generally lower flows in the waterways of the Yarra (Birrarung) catchment and other waterways. Less serious effects are predicted in the upper reaches, than in the main stem of the Birrarung and Maribyrnong. Melbourne Water has recorded a decline in platypus presence in Upper Plenty and Diamond Creeks.

The review also identified that significant areas of wetland have been lost (9.6 hectares) or are at imminent risk of being lost (166 ha).