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South Esk-Great Lake Water Management Review
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In 2003, Hydro Tasmania completed its first Water Management Review, for the South Esk-Great Lake (SEGL) catchment. |
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Program Development - Commitments
Nine commitments were made in 2003 by Hydro Tasmania as an outcome of the SEGL WMR. These commitments are at a cost to the business of approximately $2million over a five-year period, on top of $1million spent on the SEGL WMR throughout its four-year process.
Technical Studies
Twelve technical studies were undertaken for the SEGL WMR, primarily in the period July 2000 to June 2002. These comprised four lake level reviews, five riverine assessments, an assessment of dam spillage as it relates to catchment irrigation demands, an assessment of fish passage related to one of the power schemes, and an assessment of estuarine siltation issues as they relate to power station operations.
Community Consultation
The consultation stage for the SEGL WMR was undertaken in 2000. During the consultation, 225 stakeholders were initially contacted and 107 chose to take part in the consultation process including an issues survey. The Environmental Review document had been widely distributed, advertisements were placed in local papers, and presentations and public meetings were held. A Community Consultation Report summarising outcomes was publicly released in August 2000. The range of issues raised during the consultation were specific to each hydro-affected waterway, and included bank erosion, water quality, fishing, public use and amenity, irrigation water availability, environmental flows, safety, flooding, and weed encroachment.
Environmental Review
The South Esk–Great Lake Environmental Review document was publicly released in 1999. The Environmental Review was the output from the first stage of the SEGL WMR and is a 75-page document that outlines the geographical, biological and hydrological characteristics of the catchment, describes the hydro-electric generating system and identifies the known environmental issues in the catchment. The main aim of the document was to compile baseline information for the SEGL WMR that could be used as a starting point for the consultation stage and as background to assist in determining technical studies.
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