Fivebough and Tuckerbil Swamps ‘Riverland’ Banrock Station Wetland Complex The Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert. Analysis undertaken by the Authority indicates there may be changes to the hydrological regime as a result of operating the SDL Adjustment Mechanism. This could include changes to the volume, timing, duration and frequency of surface water flows. These changes may affect flows to and within Ramsar wetlands in the southern Basin, with the potential to change their ecological character in both positive and negative ways. Supply measure projects can increase outcomes for Ramsar wetlands in a number of ways, including greater floodplain connectivity and improved seasonality and duration of water for the environment. An analysis of the outcomes from the SDL adjustment package has determined that the proposed adjustments meet the ecological equivalence test and the limits of change safeguards and are not likely to have a significant impact on the eight relevant Ramsar wetlands. More detail is provided in Attachment B. As part of project delivery, proponents must obtain all necessary approvals including those under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act). This requires the proponent to consider any adverse impacts on Ramsar sites. In addition, ongoing project refinement and implementation through to 2024 will need to consider potential impacts on Ramsar wetlands. This may include coordinating the package as a whole to maximise the potential for any positive benefits through additional flows and connectivity, and avoid any adverse impacts through appropriate management and operating regimes. The additional environmental benefits from efficiency measures will also assist to maintain the character of Ramsar wetlands.
Table . Ecological element, ecological class scores and overall reach score for each reach Class Ecological Element Without development Baseline Benchmark SDL 605 Upper Murray – Barmah-Millewa Forest EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score Bird Waterbirds – health 6685 5301 6935 2463 1657 4003 4456 3485 5100 4017 3232 5017 Bitterns, crakes and rails 5439 781 2868 2719 Colonial-nesting waterbirds 4395 1623 3140 2930 Waterbirds – breeding 4684 1763 3474 3263 Vegetation River Red Gum forests 7806 7442 4304 4271 5371 4986 5254 5073 River Red Gum woodlands 7858 4859 4534 4671 Blackbox forests and woodlands 7873 4531 4335 4822 Shrublands na na na na Tall grasslands, sedge and rushlands 6408 3543 4426 4625 Benthic herblands 7263 4120 6263 5991 Fish Short-lived fish 8097 8063 6048 6081 6961 6831 6834 6745 Long-lived fish 8030 6114 6701 6655 Class Ecological Element Without development Baseline Benchmark SDL 605 Mid-upper Murray – Gunbower-Koondrook EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score Bird Waterbirds – health 7198 5009 7030 2183 1161 3405 4637 3161 5567 5981 3752 6376 Bitterns, crakes and rails 4706 417 2947 3247 Colonial-nesting waterbirds 3816 754 2351 2172 Waterbirds – breeding 4316 1289 2711 3610 Vegetation River Red Gum forests 8177 7911 3809 3555 6568 6396 7783 7590 River Red Gum woodlands 8111 3528 6422 7984 Blackbox forests and woodlands 8503 3381 7263 8073 Shrublands na na na na Tall grasslands, sedge and rushlands 6853 3502 5332 6520 Benthic herblands na na na na Fish Short-lived fish 8197 8170 5532 5498 7233 7142 7958 7785 Long-lived fish 8143 5464 7051 7613
Long-lived fish 6894 4547 5234 5449 Class Ecological Element Without development Baseline Benchmark SDL 605 Edward Wakool EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score Bird Waterbirds – health 4719 5447 6292 1874 1690 3224 2306 3401 4169 2039 3255 4120 Bitterns, crakes and rails 7886 1044 5746 5219 Colonial-nesting waterbirds 3921 1553 2026 2158 Waterbirds – breeding 5263 2289 3526 3605 Vegetation River Red Gum forests 6173 6078 2081 2773 3248 3495 3154 3389 River Red Gum woodlands 6333 2029 3099 3016 Blackbox forests and woodlands 6917 3026 3155 2718 Shrublands 6505 3737 3897 4091 Tall grasslands, sedge and rushlands 5213 2966 3635 3523 Benthic herblands 5327 2799 3936 3833 Fish Short-lived fish 7574 7351 5410 5209 5973 5611 6075 5717 Long-lived fish 7129 5008 5248 5359 Class Ecological Element Without development Baseline Benchmark SDL 605 Lower Darling EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score Bird Waterbirds – health 2361 3312 4271 961 1309 2637 1040 1467 2791 1095 1416 2805 Bitterns, crakes and rails na na na na Colonial-nesting waterbirds na na na na Waterbirds – breeding 4263 1658 1895 1737 Vegetation River Red Gum forests 3829 3696 1729 2009 2028 2188 2010 2255 River Red Gum woodlands na na na na Blackbox forests and woodlands 2958 1569 1788 1793 Shrublands 4520 3110 3176 3333 Tall grasslands, sedge and rushlands 4314 1993 2185 2314
Benthic herblands 2861 1642 1764 1827 Fish Short-lived fish 6079 5804 4668 4593 4820 4716 4812 4744 Long-lived fish 5529 4517 4613 4677 Class Ecological Element Without development Baseline Benchmark SDL 605 Mid-Murrumbidgee EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score Bird Waterbirds – health 4285 4361 6360 1744 1809 4163 1690 2723 4646 1812 2407 4495 Bitterns, crakes and rails 5632 1780 4861 3658 Colonial-nesting waterbirds 3526 1684 2000 1895 Waterbirds – breeding 4000 2026 2342 2263 Vegetation River Red Gum forests 7182 7307 4214 4747 4603 5008 4665 4993 River Red Gum woodlands 7878 4765 5122 5485 Blackbox forests and woodlands 8067 5991 5881 5672 Shrublands na na na na Tall grasslands, sedge and rushlands 6101 4017 4427 4149 Benthic herblands na na na na Fish Short-lived fish 7701 7411 6152 5934 6596 6207 6440 6086 Long-lived fish 7122 5717 5819 5733 Class Ecological Element Without development Baseline Benchmark SDL 6050 Lower Murrumbidgee EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score Bird Waterbirds – health 7807 7034 7524 4319 3311 5094 6117 5340 6502 5980 4940 6331 Bitterns, crakes and rails 6807 1420 3890 3309 Colonial-nesting waterbirds 6367 3130 4811 4493 Waterbirds – breeding 7153 4376 6541 5976 Vegetation River Red Gum forests 8256 7529 6161 5363 7462 6772 7336 6614 River Red Gum woodlands 8107 5454 7210 6843 Blackbox forests and woodlands 8407 5836 7515 7235 Shrublands 7277 5297 6369 6279
Tall grasslands, sedge and rushlands 7678 5487 6929 6927 Benthic herblands 5451 3940 5146 5066 Fish Short-lived fish 7887 8009 6799 6608 7505 7394 7563 7438 Long-lived fish 8131 6417 7284 7314 Class Ecological Element Without development Baseline Benchmark SDL 605 Lower Goulburn Floodplain EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score EE score EC score Reach Score Bird Waterbirds – health 8898 8238 8641 6946 5749 6814 8419 7604 8219 8297 7267 8038 Bitterns, crakes and rails na na na na Colonial-nesting waterbirds na na na na Waterbirds – breeding 7579 4553 6789 6237 Vegetation River Red Gum forests 8989 8781 7657 6981 8765 8413 8728 8301 River Red Gum woodlands 9000 8014 8816 8928 Blackbox forests and woodlands 9000 7852 8914 8896 Shrublands na na na na Tall grasslands, sedge and rushlands 8404 5812 7875 7666 Benthic herblands 8512 5572 7697 7285 Fish Short-lived fish 8907 8903 7696 7711 8651 8639 8545 8546 Long-lived fish 8898 7727 8627 8547