Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Agriculture and land
    Agriculture and land Building stronger and more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land care.
    • Animal health
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Land
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Plant health
    • Drought and rural support
    • Mouse infestation advice
    Xylella

    Protect against unwanted plant pests

    Our biosecurity system helps protects us. Everyone has a role in supporting our biosecurity system.

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water resources for agriculture, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Biodiversity
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
  • Biosecurity and trade
    Biosecurity and trade Lowering biosecurity risks to Australia, and assisting industry to accelerate growth towards a $100 billion agricultural sector by 2030.
    • Aircraft, vessels and military
    • Biosecurity policy
    • Cats and dogs
    • Exporting
    • Importing
    • Invasive species
    • Pests, diseases and weeds
    • Public awareness and education
    • Trade and market access
    • Travelling or sending goods to Australia
    • Wildlife trade
    Brown marmorated stink bug

    BMSB Seasonal Measures

    Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB.

    View our seasonal measures

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Our science strategy
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Abares

    ABARES Insights

    Get 'snapshots’ of agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries, or analysis of key issues.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us Enhancing Australia’s agriculture, environment, heritage and water resources through regulation and partnership.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Contact us
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • Payments
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    A day in the life

    A day in the life...

    Our video series showcases the diverse and important work we do.

    Find out more

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Water
  3. Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
  4. Water use in catchments
  5. Supporting waterbirds at Narran Lakes (Dharriwaa)

Sidebar first - EN - Water

  • Water use in catchments
    • Border Rivers
    • Gwydir
    • Lachlan
    • Lower Murray-Darling
    • Macquarie
    • Mid-Murray
    • Murrumbidgee
    • Namoi
    • Northern Waterhole Top-up
    • Northern Unregulated Rivers
    • Victorian Rivers
    • Supporting waterbirds at Narran Lakes (Dharriwaa)
    • 2021 Lower Darling-Baaka and Great Darling Anabranch spring fish flow
    • Murray Wetland Flow 2021

Supporting waterbirds at Narran Lakes (Dharriwaa)

Straw-necked ibis and lignum at Dharriwaa in January 2022. Photo: Joanne Ocock, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
Straw-necked ibis and lignum at Dharriwaa in January 2022. Photo: Joanne Ocock, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

Grant to support waterbird breeding

In early 2022, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office prepared a grant program to enable access to water from private on-farm storages on the Narran River to maintain water levels in Dharriwaa (Narran Lakes) where waterbirds started breeding in mid-January (2022).

For the first time in ten years, colonial waterbirds are breeding at the internationally significant Narran Lakes Ramsar site (known as Dharriwaa to the Yuwaalaraay/ Euahlayi people). Widespread rainfall across the Northern Murray-Darling Basin in late spring and early summer 2021-22 has led to large flows across the Condamine-Balonne, including the largest inflows into Dharriwaa since 2012.

A shortage of waterbird breeding across the Basin over the last thirty years, and likely climate change impacts in the future, increases the urgency of achieving waterbird breeding in 2022.

As this is the first colonial waterbird breeding event at Dharriwaa in a decade, a ‘release from private on-farm storage’ arrangement was established to reduce the risk of nest abandonment and enhance overall success of the breeding event.  The arrangement, which was to be administered through a grant program, was activated in early 2022 to maintain water levels until the baby birds could fledge and leave their nests.

If water levels dropped too quickly, there was a risk breeding birds may have abandoned their nests or chicks. To mitigate this risk, a grant arrangement was established to access water from on-farm storages on the Narran River to maintain water levels within the Narran Lake Nature Reserve to support the breeding waterbirds. Through the grant arrangement, once all the conditions had been met, the water licence holder would have been reimbursed for water released from their storages.

A similar action was successfully implemented in 2008 to maintain the water level in Back Lake, which allowed for the completion of a large-scale waterbird breeding event.

However, local rainfall and heavy falls across Queensland and northern NSW at the end of February and into March have meant water levels at Dharriwaa are now stable and the urgent need for water to be released through the grant has passed.

Why is Dharriwaa so important?

  • Dharriwaa has been an important meeting place to First Nations people for thousands of years.
  • As member country Australia has obligations to maintain the ecological character of the internationally significant Narran Lakes Ramsar site.
  • Dharriwaa is one of the most important waterbird breeding sites in Australia including for endangered waterbirds.
  • More than 50,000 nests have been found at the site during previous large floods. Dharriwaa has also recorded some of the largest gatherings of waterbirds in Australia - 200,000 in 1983 and over 100,000 waterbirds in 2011.
  • Dharriwaa experienced seven years of drought conditions up until early 2020, including some of the worst conditions on record.  Large scale waterbird breeding last occurred at Dharriwaa in 2012. 

The grant arrangement follows from previous efforts at Dharriwaa

Following seven years of drought, in 2020 the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office ran a pilot project to help revive critical waterbird habitat at Dharriwaa. This involved reimbursing a water-licence holder in the Lower Balonne River system (via an ad-hoc grant) not to pump water from the river. This meant more water from inflows, approximately 9 gigalitres, flowed down the river and into the lakes. This water helped revive critical Dharriwaa waterbird habitat.

CEWO also ran a second grant process in early 2021 to help vegetation recover further. However, the eligible entitlement holders chose not to participate in the grant at that time. The flows during early 2021, although relatively small, built on the flows of 2020 and vegetation continued to recover, despite the grant not being activated.

Core documents from the 2022 grant

Grant opportunities guidelines (PDF - 290 KB)
Grant opportunities guidelines (DOCX - 885 KB)

This document details the operation of the grant (available to suitable water‑licence holders along the Narran River).

Code of practice for the release of stored water from privately owned farm storages to receiving waters in the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin

This document sets out the water quality code of practice for water released from private storage.

Independent assessment of the price for water released from private storage in the Lower Balonne – February-April 2022 (PDF - 1.8 MB)
Independent assessment of the price for water released from private storage in the Lower Balonne – February-April 2022 (DOCX - 1.7 MB)

This document provides independent advice regarding the price for water released from private storage in the Lower Balonne.

Environmental watering priorities 2021-22:

Water Management Plan 2021-22 Chapter 4 – Condamine Balonne

This document sets the environmental demands for water at Narran Lakes. The demand for waterbird breeding habitat is high to critical and for large scale waterbird breeding is critical following the recent drought. These water demands are set to maintain the ecological character of the site.

Basin annual environmental watering priorities 2021−22

This document sets the Annual watering priorities for the Basin, which includes providing water to support colonial nesting waterbird breeding and recruitment triggered by natural flows in the Basin’s significant wetlands such as Narran Lakes.

Dharriwaa, 9 January 2022
Dharriwaa, 9 January 2022

Want to know more?

Lower Balonne flow updates

These updates provide information on flows in the Lower Balonne during the 2021-22 water year.

2021-22 Lower Balonne updates

  • Email: ewater@environment.gov.au
  • Follow us on Twitter: @thecewh

Local Engagement Officers

  • Sally Dickinson (Qld)
  • 0448 759 650
  • sally.dickinson@awe.gov.au
  • Jason Wilson (Walgett, NSW)
  • 0418 210 389
  • jason.wilson@awe.gov.au

The CEWO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Condamine-Balonne catchment and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to their elders both past and present

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 07 March 2022

© Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.