All in Rivers

An assessment of social and economic values of Australia’s tropical rivers: A scoping report to Land & Water Australia’s Tropical Rivers Program

superuser — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:24:48 +0000

This project involved a preliminary’ assessment of the social and economic values associated with Australia’s tropical rivers undertaken for subsequent Land & Water Australia investment in its Tropical Rivers Program.

IDs and People

Program:

Tropical Rivers Research and Development

Research Type:

Research Project

LWA Project Code:

CSE29

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Subjects

Subjects:

Socio-Economic

Tropical Rivers

Keywords:

Rivers

Tropical

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Methods for Assessing the Health of Lake Eyre Basin Rivers

superuser — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:31:54 +0000

The purpose of the Lake Eyre Basin Rivers Assessment Methodology Development project was to develop a scientifically based methodology for assessing the condition of river ecosystems and catchments in the Lake Eyre Basin. Community and government have articulated the values of, and threats to, the Basin watercourses; these have been used as a guide for the scope of this assessment methodology.

IDs and People

Program:

River Landscapes

Program Theme:

River Landscapes

Research Type:

Research Project

LWA Project Code:

GRU30

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Subjects

Subjects:

Rivers and Wetlands

Keywords:

Assessing

health

lake

basin

Rivers

eyre

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Assessing the health of Ephemeral Rivers

superuser — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:42:29 +0000

This project aims to identify the most appropriate methods to assess health in these streams but is also intended to support further development so that ephemeral streams, in other areas of Australia, can also be assessed. The project is being undertaken by the Cooperative Research Centres for Catchment Hydrology and Catchment Ecology. These CRCs are consortiums of the Universities and industry partners with researchers based at University of Adelaide, Griffith University, University of Canberra, University of Melbourne and Monash University.

IDs and People

Program:

National Rivers Consortium

Program Theme:

National Rivers Consortium

Research Type:

Research Project

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Researchers:

Tony Ladson

Subjects

Subjects:

Rivers and Wetlands

Keywords:

health

ephemeral

Rivers

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Improving the legislative basis for river restoration and management in Australia

superuser — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:23:07 +0000

The report reviews developments to April 2001 in Australian water resource law and in stakeholders’ experiences. It analyses legislation through eight ‘indicatory topics’ and through questionnaires, interviews and workshops, in four voluntarily-participating States: South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. It proposes a Model Legislative Framework to guide development of water resource law in moving towards sustainable rivers. It calls for a catchment agency to manage all impacts on rivers and catchment strategic plans to override conflicting mechanisms.

IDs and People

Program:

National Rivers Consortium

Program Theme:

National Rivers Consortium

Research Type:

Research Project

LWA Project Code:

MMA2

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Subjects

Subjects:

Rivers and Wetlands

Keywords:

Rivers

restoration

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Development of a Riparian Condition Assessment Protocol for Northern Gulf Rivers using Remote Sensing and Ground Survey

superuser — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:57:15 +0000

The primary focus of this study was to establish the riparian condition baseline against which future condition trends could be measured; and the development of a robust, repeatable method of analysis.
However, during the course of the study, researchers found that the dramatic changes in woody vegetation in both the channel zone and across floodplains warranted much more detailed investigation to establish:

IDs and People

Program:

Tropical Rivers Research and Development

LWA Project Code:

GRU38

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Subjects

Subjects:

Rivers and Wetlands

Keywords:

Riparian

condition

Northern

gulf

Rivers

remote

sensing

ground

survey

woody

Vegetation

protocol

floodplains

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

A remote sensing approach for mapping and classifying riparian gully erosion in Tropical Australia

superuser — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:47:53 +0000

Alluvial gully erosion has been one of the dominant contemporary sediment sources in many of the large rivers draining into the Gulf of Carpentaria, yet, fundamental questions persist concerning the phenomenon both in terms of causal mechanisms and extent. In this project a baseline assessment of alluvial gully erosion in four tropical savannah rivers was undertaken resulting in both the development of a gully erosion conceptual model and an assessment of the spatial extent of gully erosion.

IDs and People

Program:

Tropical Rivers Research and Development

LWA Project Code:

GRU37

Subjects

Subjects:

Tropical Rivers

Keywords:

remote

sensing

Mapping

Riparian

Erosion

sediment

Rivers

gulf

Carpentaria

spatial

classifying

gully

alluvial

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Quantifying surface water - groundwater exchange using thermal & chemical measurements

superuser — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:16:14 +0000

This project will develop field equipment and a proven scientific methodology that will quantify surface water - groundwater transfer to aquifers beneath river beds and therefore contribute to the mapping of the many and complex connections and interactions between groundwater and the surface water - dams, lakes, rivers, wetlands.

IDs and People

Program:

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation

Research Type:

Research Project

Legacy (KMS) Project ID:

UNS5127

Host Organisation:

Water Research Laboratory - University of New South Wales

Researchers:

Prof. Richard Ian Acworth

Subjects

Subjects:

Data and Information

Mapping and Modelling

Water (General)

Catchment Management

Keywords:

Rivers

Groundwater

Catchment

Storage Reservoirs

Floodplain

Project Information

Outcomes:

As a result of this project, there will be much improved knowledge and understanding of a process that can, in turn, inform policy development and water allocation decisions. The new knowledge will allow development of advisory and/or project management services based upon deployment and interpretation of the sondes.

In addition field data acquired by the sondes could provide much needed independent confirmation of various other modelling studies.

Current Activities

Status:

Active

Background

Project Background:

Australia is often said to be the driest continent on Earth - but that’s only because of its low rainfall. In fact, while the surface of the land is dry, we have massive groundwater reserves.

Groundwater makes it possible to grow much of our irrigated crops and pastures. Governments are looking increasingly to these aquifers to provide drinking water for our growing towns and cities. Groundwater use has almost doubled nationally in the past two decades, (it now makes up more than one-fifth of all the water we harvest) yet we know far too little about how to manage it sustainably

Aims:

This project seek to design, develop and test an integrated measuring tool that can be installed and recovered from the bed of streams and rivers. It is envisaged that the tool will be 1.5 m long and 80 mm diameter with removable sensing and logging elements. The tool will comprise temperature and water level loggers and newly developed probes to monitor fluid electrical conductivity, the concentration of chloride in the water and oxygen levels. It is envisaged that multiple tools will be deployed at selected sites and recovered after 2 to 3 months for download and analysis. Data from the new sondes will provide real field data and allow a much improved conceptual model of hyporheic zone beneath and adjacent to surface water bodies that are connected to aquifers. This, in turn, will better inform management and allocation decisions.

The initial approach has been successfully tested as part of the Cotton Catchment Communities CRC program of works in Maules Creek. We are now confident that these methods can be substantially further developed and this project would undertake that work.