Rising River Alert

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19 October 2015  - NSW DPI Water

Rising river alert Snowy River below Jindabyne Dam

‘Wai–Garl’- River Black Fish

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DPI Water today issued a‘rising river alert’for the Snowy River between Jindabyne Dam and Dalgety in southern NSW for Wednesday 28 October 2015.
The river will rise due to the fourth and largest high-flow even in a series of five planned environmental releases from Jindabyne Dam to the Snowy River during winter and spring 2015.
All five high-flow events in the Snowy River during this period have been named by the five regional aboriginal communities- Bidwell-Maap, Wongalu, Southern Monero-Yuin-Bolga, Maneroo-Ngarigo and Wiradjuri- who recognise the link between these high flows and the health ofthe Snowy River.
This high flow event has been officially named ‘Wai–Garl’, which means River Black Fish, in recognition of the Maneroo-Ngarigo traditional people who have an enduring and strong connection to the SnowyRiver.
The ‘Wai-Garl’ was once an abundant fish in the Snowy River and previously formed a food staple.
Not only is the ‘Wai-Garl’ an important feature ofthe Snowy River for the Maneroo-Ngarigo traditional people, the River Black Fish is also an ecological end-point identified by scientists as part of the river recovery process.
It is anticipated that if the habitat of the river is improved with subsequent high flow events , the Snowy River could support the Wai-Garl at some future date.
The highest flow rate will occur at Jindabyne Dam from 8am to 4pm on Wednesday 28 October2015 and will be equivalent to 8,110 megalitres per day for the eight hour period.
For the remainder of Wednesday 28 October 2015 the flow rate will be equivalent to 3,947 megalitres per day. The flow rate will drop back to 1,162 megalitres per day on Thursday 29 October 2015.

The environmental changes from this release are expected to be greatest between the dam wall to the junction with the Delegate River. However, the pulse will be noticeable down to the estuary in Victoria.
It s expected to see the river water level at Dalgety rise from 0.98m to 1.68m, a rise of 0.7m.This is the largest of the spring releases, with water released from both the cone valves and the spillway.

It is important to note that water released at Jindabyne will take less than six hours to reach Dalgety Weir at this flow rate. Landholders downstream of the Jindabyne Dam area dvised to take all necessary precautions with stock, fencing and property.
DPIWater will work with the NSWState Emergency Service and Bureau of Meteorology to provide information to the community regarding the management of this release should weather conditions warrant.

More information can befound at- water.nsw.gov.au or by calling 1800353 104.
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