South Australian adventurers and campers are being encouraged to check the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) website before heading out to sites along the Murray River, as the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) commences environmental watering of the floodplains.
Program Leader of River and Floodplains with DEW, Jan Whittle said the Department would commence environmental watering of the Chowilla, Pike and potentially Katarapko floodplains this month, through operation of environmental regulators.
Ms Whittle said the operations would deliver much needed environmental water to the floodplains to restore the health and resilience of the landscapes into the future.
“Watering supports the floodplain vegetation and provides feeding and breeding habitat for wildlife including a range of birds and frogs,” Ms Whittle said.
“The watering moves carbon and nutrients from the floodplain to the river providing resources for the riverine food webs.”
She said weir pools at Locks 6, 5 and 4, would also be raised during the environmental watering to assist with water flow onto floodplains and wetlands upstream as well as on to the floodplains at Chowilla, Pike and Katarapko.
Ms Whittle said National Parks in these areas would remain open to the public where possible.
“Depending on the scale of operation or high flows, a number of campsites and access tracks will need to be closed during part of the operation,” she said.
“We expect the watering events to continue during spring and into early summer.”
Further information can be accessed on the NPWS website at this PS News link.
