Re: Macquarie Wetlands

Terry wrote "According to our local news, a large release of water has been made from
Burrendong Dam to top up the Macquarie Marshes to assist the Red Gums and
birds in the marshes."

There was 30 megalitres of water released from the dam yesterday.  The river at Dubbo was up a little this morning but it will take 10 days for the water to reach the marshes.  It won't exactly "top up" the marshes as they are pretty much completely dry right now.  This amount of water will more or less stay in the channels and provide water to about 10% of the area of the marshes.  It certainly won't result in any bird breeding event this year.

Nevertheless, the water is important as it will give a reprieve to that part of the marshes that will get water.  Without it the overall health of the vegetation in that section would have been be seriously compromised during the coming hot summer.  Having made that statement, it doesn't require one to be a brain surgeon to release that the balance of the marshes are in serious trouble if we don't get a major rainfall event (preferably below Burrendong Dam) soon.

Cheers

David Geering
Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
Department of Environment & Conservation
P.O. Box 2111
Dubbo  NSW  2830
Ph: 02 6883 5335 or Freecall 1800 621 056
Fax: 02 6884 9382



This email is intended for the addressee(s) named and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. 

If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and then delete it immediately.  Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender except where the sender expressly and with authority states them to be the views of the Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW).