Options for water in Onkaparinga Catchment
Abstract
Developing options for providing water for the environment in the Onkaparinga River Catchment
This paper describes the approach and outcomes from a recent study of the environmental flows of the Onkaparinga River catchment in South Australia. The hydrology of the catchment has been significantly impacted by the operation of the water supply system, which includes pumping water from the River Murray, Mt bold Dam and Clarendon Weir, which diverts the majority of the catchment's streamflow for Adelaide's water supply. This substantial multi-disciplinary study over some 3 years is one of the largest projects of its type ever undertaken in the state. The paper describes the application of a new framework for estimating environmental water requirements (EWRs) which is based upon the philosophy of flow components and results in a range of flows, rather than a single recommended flow. The paper also covers the identification of priority environmental flow needs based upon the environmental condition, the current degree to which the EWRs are being satisfied and the prioritisation of different flow components. Options for providing water to satisfy these priority needs are then identified and developed.
Authors
Peter Hill
Heather Griffith
Michael Shirley
Dr Nicholas Fleming
Bruce Abernethy
Steven Gatti