property. Consequently in much of the southern basin, flows for these habitats do not significantly improve and will continue to occur in response to large rainfall events in relatively wet years. In parts of the southern basin these habitats are in declining health and transitioning to more flood tolerant vegetation communities (as compared to flood dependent vegetation). There may be opportunities for works and measures to overcome some delivery constraints to improve the ability to water mid and high level floodplain communities in the future. These actions could deliver substantial benefits to these vegetation communities, but further cost-benefit analysis and consultation with stakeholders and communities is required. There are occasional anomalies where environmental outcomes differ from the summary above. For example in locations such as the River Murray near Barmah-Millewa forest, instream outcomes will be limited by river regulation for consumptive supply affecting the pattern of flows, reducing instream flow variability and increasing flows in summer when flows were naturally low. Another example is the Lower Murrumbidgee where MDBA environmental flow indicators target the delivery of water to the operation of the existing environmental regulators. This enables efficient watering of large areas of wetland and floodplain habitat, but has some trade-offs in delivering outcomes for some parts of the environment, such as near-channel habitats along the Murrumbidgee River. Evaluating the benefits and trade-offs associated with environmental works and measures will be an important consideration in the 2015 review. In the northern basin there is greater variation in outcomes, owing to differences in water management arrangements, and greater challenges in delivering targeted environmental water due to the unregulated nature of the rivers. As an example, in the Lower Balonne the ability to influence instream flows such as freshes is limited by water sharing arrangements and associated access rules to instream flows, rather than the volume of water to be recovered. In much of the northern basin high flows are less affected by consumptive use due to the unregulated nature of the rivers. A summary of estimated changes in condition on the proposed Basin Plan is presented in Figure 2, drawing on the assessment by CSIRO (2012), together with some additional outcomes from MDBA analysis. The CSIRO analysis supports the flow and ecosystem responses at each of the indicator sites, as illustrated in Figure 1.
property. Consequently in much of the southern basin, flows for these habitats do not significantly improve and will continue to occur in response to large rainfall events in relatively wet years. In parts of the southern basin these habitats are in declining health and transitioning to more flood tolerant vegetation communities (as compared to flood dependent vegetation). There may be opportunities for works and measures to overcome some delivery constraints to improve the ability to water mid and high level floodplain communities in the future. These actions could deliver substantial benefits to these vegetation communities, but further cost-benefit analysis and consultation with stakeholders and communities is required. There are occasional anomalies where environmental outcomes differ from the summary above. For example in locations such as the River Murray near Barmah-Millewa forest, instream outcomes will be limited by river regulation for consumptive supply affecting the pattern of flows, reducing instream flow variability and increasing flows in summer when flows were naturally low. Another example is the Lower Murrumbidgee where MDBA environmental flow indicators target the delivery of water to the operation of the existing environmental regulators. This enables efficient watering of large areas of wetland and floodplain habitat, but has some trade-offs in delivering outcomes for some parts of the environment, such as near-channel habitats along the Murrumbidgee River. Evaluating the benefits and trade-offs associated with environmental works and measures will be an important consideration in the 2015 review. In the northern basin there is greater variation in outcomes, owing to differences in water management arrangements, and greater challenges in delivering targeted environmental water due to the unregulated nature of the rivers. As an example, in the Lower Balonne the ability to influence instream flows such as freshes is limited by water sharing arrangements and associated access rules to instream flows, rather than the volume of water to be recovered. In much of the northern basin high flows are less affected by consumptive use due to the unregulated nature of the rivers. A summary of estimated changes in condition on the proposed Basin Plan is presented in Figure 2, drawing on the assessment by CSIRO (2012), together with some additional outcomes from MDBA analysis. The CSIRO analysis supports the flow and ecosystem responses at each of the indicator sites, as illustrated in Figure 1.
PBP_socioeconomic_implications.docx