Water, Land and People - Goulburn Broken Catchment ...

PROGRAM REPORTS
20
DNRIS System Monitoring
Note: Volume diverted data (as at September 2007) was not obtained from all 33 storages, therefore figures
are not exact for each Water Services Area
Drainage Nutrient Removal Incentive Scheme
Results 2006-2007
Landowners with systems constructed with
the assistance of the DNRIS were contacted to
determine the volume of water collected and
used for irrigation during the year.
The severe drought conditions of 2006-2007
resulted in very limited opportunities for
high-flow diversion across the SIR. At the
end of year almost all storages constructed
with the support of the incentive were dry.
Consequently, sampling and measuring of salt
and phosphorous concentrations was not
undertaken.
Issues Impacting on DNRIS High-Flow Storage
A small number of landowners reported
cracking in the walls of their storages, as a
result of the ongoing severe dry conditions
and the storages remaining close to empty
for the past 12 months. These cracks are
not expected to create problems when the
storages are filled again, but landowners
are conscious of monitoring the stability of
their storages. In the past 12 months, one
landowner applied beaching (rock armouring)
to one dam wall (primarily to reduce the
erosion from wave action) and another
undertook some remodelling of one dam wall
and is considering installing drippers around
the walls to keep the walls moist during dry
conditions.
Other Project Team Activities
• Monthly reporting on the DNRIS was included
in the Community Surface Water Management
Program monthly report.
• Project staff continued to be a member of the
Community Monitoring (Drainwatch) Steering
Committee (Goulburn Murray Landcare Network
run committee under the Waterwatch program).
• A review and update of the DNRIS
Guidelines was completed.
Geographic Information Systems
This year has seen the continued use of Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) to map where storages have
been constructed within the SIR in relation to G-MW
Water Services Committee boundaries and Local Area
Plan boundaries. At present 10 of the 33 constructed
storages fall into Local Area Plan boundaries.
DNRIS Local Area Plan Figures