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DWE Home > Home > Water Management > Water for the environment > Environmental monitoring > Snowy River monitoring

Water for the environment

Monitoring the response to environmental flows in the Snowy River

The response  of environmental water releases to the Snowy River below Jindabyne Dam are being assessed.  Environmental releases will be staged and up to 28% of Mean Annual Natural Flow may be released to the river.  These releases to the Snowy River are dependent on water savings in the Murray-Darling Basin.  Currently, a small increase in base flow has occurred and the physical, chemical and biological condition of the river is being assessed by monitoring and/or modelling:

1. river discharge
2. the physical structure and composition of the river
3. water quality
4. algae
5. vegetation
6. aquatic insects
7. fish

The first stage of the environmental flows to the Snowy River were released from the Mowamba River in August 2002.  Monitoring began in 2000 and continued during the release of the first and subsequent flows of water for the environment.

The results of the monitoring and modelling program are generating new information about the Snowy River.  The program also aims to develop decision support tools for future water management decisions.

Further information

Brooks A, Russell M and Bevitt R 2007, Response of aquatic macroinvertebrates to the first environmental flow regime in the Snowy River (Report PDF 2MB) (Summary PDF 250KB).

Haeusler T and Bevitt R 2007, Hydraulic modelling of a fish barrier—Pinch Falls, Snowy River, (Report PDF 2MB) (Summary PDF 314KB).

Bevitt R and Jones H 2008, Water quality in the Snowy River before and after the first environmental flow regime (PDF 1.2MB).

Gilligan D and Williams S 2008, Changes in fish assemblages after the first flow releases to the Snowy River downstream of Jindabyne Dam (PDF 1MB)

Reinfelds, I. and Williams, S. (2008) Hydraulic modelling to estimate threshold discharges for sediment entrainment in the Snowy River, Australia. (PDF 1MB)

Rose, T A 2008, Field manual for identifying and mapping channel units in the Snowy River, Snowy River Recovery: Snowy River Flow Response Monitoring, NSW Department of Water and Energy, Sydney. (PDF 1.8MB)

Russell, M., Brooks, A. and Williams, S. (2008) Impact of the 2002-03 wildfires on the macroinvertebrate assemblages of the Snowy River catchment. Snowy River Recovery: Snowy Flow Response Monitoring. Department of Water and Energy, Sydney (PDF 1MB)

Russell, M. (2008) Representativeness and efficiency of a laboratory sub-sampling method for the Snowy River macroinvertebrate samples. Snowy River Recovery: Snowy River Flow Response Monitoring. Department of Water and Energy, Sydney (PDF 666KB)

Key contact

Simon Williams
Senior Scientist
Department of Water and Energy
PO Box 53
Wollongong, NSW, 2500, Australia

t: +61 (0)2 4224 9687
e: Simon.williams@dnr.nsw.gov.au