Flow regulation and land use change has impacted on the condition of billabongs along the Yarra River. Following an initial review of the ecology and water requirements of numerous billabongs in the Yarra River catchment by Melbourne Water, a priority list has been developed. Jacobs has developed a framework for determining and implementing a preferred water regime, based on individual wetland management objectives. The framework is based on four stages; characterisation of the wetland and determination of management objectives, identification of a preferred watering regime, water regime delivery (through infrastructure design/modification), and monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management.
This paper presents an overview of the framework and a case study of its application to three sites of differing complexity; Yering backswamp, Spadoni’s Billabong and Cockatoo Creek Swamp. The purpose of these projects has been to further develop a conceptual understanding of the site, establish management objectives, identify a preferred watering regime and determine a suitable environmental watering solution that could enable the preferred regime to be delivered.