By Peter Drinkall. February 8, p 1 Save The Macquarie Again!

Transcription

1 p 1 Save The Macquarie Again! By Peter Drinkall February 8, 2016 Save the Macquarie is a call that has been shouted out several times over the years. The first time in my memory was when it was voiced by the Bathurst No Base movement in the mid- 1980s, when it was proposed that a dam be built on the Macquarie River downstream of Hill End to service a proposed Army base. The No Base protest eventually showed the total lack of logic in ruining a river and a large area of land when the Australian Army already held sufficient lands across Australia - lands more suited to training in the terrains in which its troops would most likely be deployed. More recently, the Save the Macquarie call went unheeded when Orange City Council decided to build an expensive pipeline from the Macquarie River to Orange, ostensibly to drought- proof the city. Effluent produced from water which would have once flowed to the Macquarie, is not being returned to the river it is being given away at a rate of up to 13 megalitres per day to Cadia Valley mine (gold and copper). Plans are also afoot to build a pipeline from Orange s Suma Park Reservoir to Carcoar Dam. This will enable Orange City Council to do a couple of things: keep Suma Park Dam less than 90 % full so they can continue to pump from the Macquarie River, and keep the flow going through to Carcoar Dam, which can then keep a good release going from the dam downstream to Newcrest Cadia mine s pumps. As well, the Macquarie Pipeline will be topping up Molong Dam and sending water further out, so there will be an incredible drain on the river. The call is going out yet again. Now Bathurst City Council has jumped on the bandwagon. Bathurst s water supply is pumped from the Macquarie River. A great proportion of this becomes effluent. The city s treated effluent is currently returned to the river, and, along with natural inflow, flows toward Burrendong Dam and on to meet the Darling River. On the way much of this is pumped out for irrigation and, of course, the abovementioned Macquarie Pipeline.

2 p 2 Bathurst Council wants to sell ten megalitres a day of that treated effluent to Regis Resources for its Kings Plains (McPhillamy) gold mine. The chemicals used in gold processing, particularly arsenic, will leave this water unfit for release into the environment ; the official response states that Approximately 60% of the treated wastewater used in the process would be recycled using modern technologies with the remainder contained in a tailings storage facility. The Macquarie River and its main tributary the Turon River have greatly fluctuating inflow regimes. Indeed, way back in 1836, Charles Darwin was disappointed, because, as he wrote The Macquarie figures in the map as a respectable river, and it is the largest of those draining this part of the watershed; yet to my surprise I found it a mere chain of ponds, separated from each other by spaces almost dry. This is the river that our councillors want to deprive of another ten megalitres of water daily. If not currently afflicting us, droughts are always just over the horizon. So what are we likely to lose if the inevitable dry times befall us and we end up with an even more stressed river due to its water being sold or given to mining companies? We lose a lot of past effort by quite a few people to restore the local habitat and river fauna, and we lose a recreational resource that has growing recognition among the New South Wales, and indeed, national angling community. The river oaks are what give the Macquarie and Turon Rivers their distinctive character. Now a protected species, these trees were exploited by the gold seekers of the 1800 s. Their survival is crucial to the environment. Most streams in this area are shaped and shaded by these magnificent trees to varying degrees. Much of the fauna closely co- exists with, and depends upon the river oaks. Historically, these rivers saw the first gold rushes in the 1850 s. However, the mining process was low- tech in those days. Later on, the pastoral industry is thought to have had a bigger impact with its sheep dips and other uses of chemicals. But the rivers and some of the fish survived. What a river cannot do without is water! Murray Cod and Trout Cod, Golden Perch and Eel- tailed Catfish are the larger native fish in these waters. In the early 20 th century Rainbow Trout from America and Brown Trout from Europe were introduced to provide a recreational fishery. Although this may have stretched aquatic food supplies it did not appear to have too great an impact on the larger native fish, although smaller species such as River Blackfish certainly suffered in the smaller streams. However, later infiltration of the waterways by European Carp and Redfin Perch in the 21 st century is certainly a major problem. Carp are vacuum cleaners that, due to their size, great numbers and feeding habit, can strip a stream bed of food items such as insect larvae, water snails, crustaceans, etc.. Redfin Perch can do the same and more, eating eggs and fry of other fish; Redfin are also carriers of EHN virus (Epizootic Haematopoietic Necrosis virus) which can devastate susceptible native fish like Macquarie Perch, Silver Perch, Freshwater Catfish and Murray Cod. Redfin are listed as a class 1 noxious fish in New South Wales. Silver Perch (vulnerable) are also a species that are currently present in the Macquarie above Burrendong Dam, along with smaller non- angling native species that play an important role in the aquatic environment; unfortunately, Macquarie Perch are now thought to be extinct from the geographic region above the dam. The only factor imposing some sort of control on invasive fish species is the efforts of recreational anglers. The Sofala branch of the Central Acclimatisation Society (CAS) has 40 members, and together with other branches of the CAS across eastern and central NSW, has for many decades been involved in distributing trout releases and doing what it can to maintain a healthy fishery. This century the branch s focus has shifted to re- establishing native fish in the Macquarie and Turon. Both native and trout species are bred for release into public waters. Recent releases of native fish by Sofala CAS are listed:

3 p Murray Cod (MC) released into Turon River & Crudine Creek Approximately 1670 MC & 3030 Golden Perch (GP) MC and 4545 GP MC and 4545 GP plus Oberon CAS 1515 MC into Fish River MC and 4545 GP Since 2009 over 150,000 Trout Cod have been released into the Macquarie River above Lake Burrendong. Trout Cod release 2015 About twenty members of Sofala CAS usually participate in distributing fish. As an indication of the contributions toward the Native Fish Recovery Program, some recent contributions have been: Sofala Branch of CAS: $3000 in 2015; $1500 in 2014 Bundi Fishing Club: $4000 in $2015 Oberon Branch of CAS: $500 in 2014 Dudley Hotel Fishing Club (Bathurst) $500 biannually (supporters since 1986) Sofala CAS also raises funds from the annual Sofala Carp Blitz (230 registered in 2015); this event has government and many commercial supporters (cash and prize donors). Other stocking of native fish has been undertaken by Bundi Fishing Club based near Hill End that raises funds ($100 per member annually from its invited members, local and state- wide) to purchase fish for release into the Macquarie. The native fish purchased by these two organisations are from Murray Darling Fisheries at Wagga and are accredited to supply genetic specific fish to different zones in the Murray Darling Basin. Fish are laboratory tested for disease and health and this year have been marked with calcein dye, to allow easy identification of the stocked fish in follow up studies. Trout Cod are bred at Narrandera Fisheries Centre and are NSW Government funded, supported by NSW RFT. The native fish recovery relies on an ongoing concerted effort by Government authorities, local councils and the wider community. Releases are part funded via the NSW Dollar for Dollar Native Fish Stocking Program with funds coming from the Freshwater Recreational Fishing Trust (RFT) funded from the recreational fishing licence fee.

4 p 4 Sofala branch also does its part in eliminating many of the European Carp from the fishery by way of its annual summer Carp Blitz, a low key competition encouraging a growing number of anglers to target these pests. This program raises awareness of the problem and, while admittedly a stop- gap measure, it hopes to counter the assault of the carp until a biological weapon becomes available (research into creating sisterless carp looks hopeful). So, what are councillors doing to assist these volunteers and provide a recreational resource that brings anglers from afar? They selling or trying to sell the water to miners arguably some of the worst polluters on the planet. And what does fishing contribute to the economy? The following extracts are from The NSW Recreational Fishing Expenditure Survey : In NSW Inland Overall, when flow- on effects are taken into account, recreational fishing contributes the following to the economy of NSW Inland: 1,539 FTE (Full Time Employment) jobs, including 289 in the hospitality sector, 288 in the retail trade sector, 148 in the personal and other services sector, and 138 in the agriculture sector; $73.50 million in household income with 13.4 percent being in the retail trade sector, 13.1 percent being in the hospitality sector, 7.4 percent being in the personal and other services sector, 7.0 percent being in the public administration sector, and 6.8 percent being in the transport and storage sector; $ million in industry value added, representing 0.30 percent of total regional value added of the NSW Inland region; and $ million in output. Recreational fishing will contribute 0.38 percent of FTE employment in the NSW Inland region when flow- on effects are taken into account as well as 0.32 percent of household income and 0.26 percent of the estimated gross regional product of the NSW Inland region. This amounts to a pretty good return on the amount spent on this activity. With its proximity to the population centre of Sydney, the Central West of NSW takes a large share of the economic benefits listed above. For a weekend angler, this region s plentiful rivers and lakes make a trip of two to three hours much more attractive than a five to six hour trip to the Snowy Mountains. Indeed, many Sydney anglers day trip to the closer areas of Lithgow- Bathurst- Oberon. These rivers belong to the people, not to councillors, miners or anyone else. People want to improve them, not turn them into drains. Save the Mac! REFERENCES CHARLES DARWIN WATER 20/proposal- to- sell- bathurst- effluent- for- gold- mine/

5 p 5 pipeline- puts- macquarie- river- in- jeopardy COD trout- cod- released- in- macquarie- river MINES blayney- mine- water- deal- will- affect- macquarie- pipeline/ Ridgeway_Mine SOFALA BRANCH OF CENTRAL ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY Branch- Cas- Fishing/ NSW RECREATIONAL FISHING EXPENDITURE SURVEY data/assets/pdf_file/0009/ /UOW- statewide- economic- survey- final- report.pdf