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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-23 Daily Xml
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Parliamentary Committees

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: UPPER SOUTH-EAST DRYLAND SALINITY AND FLOOD MANAGEMENT ACT REPORT

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (16:26): I move:

That the 46th report of the Natural Resources Committee be noted.

The South-East region of South Australia is a highly modified landscape. Broadscale land clearing and an extensive drainage network developed over the past century have converted what was once a wetland-dominated landscape to agricultural production on a vast scale. Although this has generated great wealth and prosperity for the region and the state, environmental health has deteriorated.

Several east-west drains intercept environmental flows which in the past flowed northward to the Upper South-East and the Coorong, a Ramsar-listed Wetland of International Importance. There are two major components to the Upper South-East or the USE program as it will be referred to for the rest of my speech. One is draining saline groundwater and floodwater away from agricultural areas and two is maintaining essential surface water flows to wetlands and watercourses.

The USE program of the Department for Water is completing the construction of a vast interconnected network of surface and groundwater drains, floodways and natural wetlands and watercourses. The Bald Hill and the Wimpinmerit drains are the final pieces of infrastructure comprising that network. The system of drains that reconnects surface water flows to wetlands, swamps, watercourses and ultimately the Coorong comprises largely of what is known as the REFLOWS (Restoring Flows to the Upper South-East of South Australia) project.

The REFLOWS project is designed to capture some of the surface water from the Lower South-East that is currently drained to sea and redirect it along natural historic flow paths to the Upper South-East to supplement environmental flows to the stressed wetlands and watercourses. Once environmental flows are delivered to the existing USE flows network by the REFLOWS project, it should be possible to direct flows throughout the region to optimise water use for environmental purposes. The system is designed to be flexible, so it can be operated sensitively in response to environmental and agricultural needs.

In July and August 2009, the Upper South-East received above average rain. This water was able to be diverted via the Upper South-East Dryland Salinity and Flood Management Program into a number of key wetlands, allowing them to be watered for the first time in many years. Furthermore, there was sufficient water to allow some releases into the Coorong South Lagoon via Salt Creek.

The apparent success of these watering events reflects well on the REFLOWS component of the USE program and bears out the considerable research and planning that have gone into these reflows. The committee looks forward to hearing from the department how the Upper South-East program, and REFLOWS in particular, have functioned, given the trials of the significant above average rains that we have seen in the region over the past year. I commend this report to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.

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