Water & Aquatic Ecosystems
The Lachlan River catchment is unique as it is a terminal basin with the river dispersing across the floodplain at the Great Cumbung Swamp. Many productive agricultural and industrial businesses that thrive within the catchment are largely based around access to water, either surface or groundwater. There are many competing water users within the catchment including agricultural irrigators, horticulturalists, industrial, extractive industries, recreational, stock and domestic, town water supply and aquatic habitat protection.
This theme covers groundwater and river ecosystems. It seeks to address pressures on water quality (physical and chemical), water use (surface and groundwater) and pressures on the habitats found in-stream, in wetlands and on floodplains. Carp was identified by the community as a contributor to all of these pressures. This theme also deals with operational influences such as in-stream structures (weirs), flow regimes and flooding. Social values stated by the Lachlan community, such as Aboriginal and European cultural values and aesthetics have also been recognised in developing the targets.