River Murray erosion management plan

Monitoring undertaken by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) over several years has identified a section of the River Murray between Corowa and the Ovens River junction as experiencing accelerated rates of bank erosion.

The River Murray Erosion Committee, which comprises NSW, Victorian and Federal representatives and local councils has been established to manage the implementation of erosion strategies presented in the draft River Murray (Corowa to Ovens River) Erosion Management Plan).

The community was engaged from 1 December 2017-28 February 2018 and the project received over 300 submissions on the proposed management plan. We are now considering the feedback for the development of a new Trial Erosion Management Plan.

As a direct result of feedback received:

• we have invited two members to the committee to represent the regional tourism and wakeboarding perspectives.
• boating safety (with particular regard to passive craft) has become a secondary focus for the new Plan based on the concern raised by a large number of stakeholders
• We have commissioned an Economic Impact assessment and an independent assessment of the erosion data and are now in discussions with other government agencies regarding those findings
• We will report back to the community on progress as we continue to work on the New Draft Plan.

The draft River Murray (Corowa to Ovens River) Erosion Management Plan has been developed to address the excessive rates of erosion along with safety and amenity issues for passive waterway users identified in this section of the River.

The plan considers land and water based erosion management strategies, with key components including riverbank protection work and restrictions on high-wash/wake boating activities. The proposed strategies seek to address environmental and community safety needs, while ensuring the community can continue to enjoy the river in a sustainable and responsible manner, and minimise economic impact on the various industries directly or indirectly reliant on the river.

The Plan was developed as a result of the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s report on bank erosion in this section of the river.

• December 2017 Erosion Management Plan

  Management of boating wash and riverbank erosion.