Modelling dry season flows and predicting the impact of water extraction of flagship species
Georges, Aurthur; Webster, Ian; Guarino, Fiorenzo; Jolly, Peter; Thoms, Martin; Doody, Sean; CRC for Freshwater Ecology (Australia); University of Canberra. Applied Ecology Research Group
E-Publications; E-Books; PublicationNT; 57/2002; National River health program
2002-11-20
Daly River
The aim of this project is to contribute to recommendations on environmental flows to ensure that they are consistent with maintaining the biota of the Daly River, given competing demands of agriculture, recreation and tourism, conservation and Aboriginal culture. Our focus is on flow, connectivity and water temperatures.
Made available by via Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT); Submitted to the Northern Territory. Department of Infrastructure Planning and Environment
1. Project Details -- 2. Executive Summary -- 3. Interpretation of the Brief -- 4. Variation of the Brief -- 5. Background -- 6. The Daly Drainage -- 7. The Pig-nosed turtle -- 8. Analysis of Historical Flow Data -- 9. Analysis of Contemporary Flow Data -- 10. Modelling Flow Reduction -- 11. Water Temperature Versus Flow -- 12. Impact on Flagship Species -- 13. References
English
Environmental Flows; Modelling; Biota
Northern Territory Government
Palmerston
Final Report
57/2002; National River health program
75 pages ; 30 cm
application/pdf
Attribution International 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
Northern Territory Government
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/885434
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/885435
29 Both 2000 and 2001 were exceptionally wet years (Figure 15). In 2000, the transition between high-flow to low flow conditions came late (May-June), which greatly impeded our access to the river. Peak flow at 5092 cumecs was not particularly high, and well below the record of 8100 of January 1998, but well above the 95th percentile for flow in any of the wet season months of January to March. Average monthly flows in the dry-season exceeded the corresponding median monthly average flows in all months, and Low Flow (< 10 cumecs) occurred only in September and October. The minimum low flow occurred in October at 8.6 cumecs, which exceeded the 90th percentile for recorded September-October flow (Table A2). The dry-season finished typically, with the low-high flow transition occurring in November. Figure 15. Mean monthly flow at Dorisvale gauging station (G8140067) in the two years of the present study. The mean monthly flow (blue line) is compared to the maximum, median and minimum mean monthly flow calculated across the historical dataset. Data for January, March and October of 2000, and in January, March, October and November of 2001 should be viewed with caution, owing to equipment failure. In 2001, the transition between high-flow to low flow conditions was more typical, occurring in April. Peak flow at 2995 cumecs was not particularly high, and also well below the record of 8099 of January 1998, but above the 90th percentile for flow in any of the wet season months of January to March. Average monthly flows in the dry-season equalled the maximum monthly average flow in June through September, and Low Flow (< 10 cumecs) was not achieved in any month. The minimum low flow occurred in October at 10.36 cumecs, which exceeded the 95th percentile for recorded September-October flow (Table A2). The dry-season finished typically, with the low-high flow transition occurring in November. The data for 2000 was consistent with the relationship between rate of decline in flow as the dry season progressed and initial flow conditions (as at June 1) (Figure 16), despite the exceptionally high dry season flows. This is an important relationship, as it is one that is likely to change under any regime of dry-season water extraction, whether directly or by groundwater extraction. It may be an important tool for monitoring the impact of water resource development. 2000 2001