Lake Alexandrina Wetlands Refilling
Cameras capture rising water as Lake Alexandrina wetlands re-fill
Cameras were installed for four months during Summer 2010-11 at three Lake Alexandrina wetland locations to record the effects of water flowing back after the drought-breaking rains.
The cameras were installed at:
The project was a collaborative effort between the former Departments for Water and of Environment and Natural Resources, and the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board with the Australian Conservation Foundation.
The developer of the digital technology, Observant Global, provided the equipment following on from a similar successful project at Hattah Lakes in Victoria.
Images from the cameras were captured at hourly intervals capturing time delay sequences of the wetlands refilling and provided a valuable visual record of this event.
Narrung Wetland, SA from Andrew Kelley on Vimeo
Following the return of high river flows, the Hunters Creek fishway finally released water into the Coorong for the first time since it was constructed in 2008 (with funding from The Living Murray program), enabling iconic Coorong fish like congolli to travel between the freshwater of Lake Alexandrina and the Coorong estuary to breed.
Environmental water allocated from The Living Murray program was pumped into Narrung wetland during the drought to ensure aquatic plant populations survived and provided feeding and breeding opportunities for water birds.
The photos from Narrung wetland show large patches of submerged aquatic plants had germinated. These plants provide food for birds such as black swans, and also provide habitat for small bodied threatened fish species. Because environmental water was pumped into the wetland during the drought, the wetland has recovered quickly with the return of higher flows this year.
The Living Murray is a joint initiative funded by the New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian, Australian Capital Territory and the Commonwealth Governments and is coordinated by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
