Fighting for Flow
By Stacey Bloomfield, Waterkeepers Australia

In 1992, Jim Courier promised to jump in the Yarra River if he won the Australia Tennis Open. He did win and duly dived into the river’s murky waters. He survived to tell the tale, but will the Yarra survive?

The Yarra River flows through the heart of Melbourne – Australia’s second largest city. It is the main source of water for the city’s three million inhabitants and is the centrepiece of its largest wildlife area. Despite its iconic status, historically Melburnians have turned their backs on their river and joked about its dirty brown water.

With support from Waterkeepers Australia, a group of concerned citizens formed the Yarra Riverkeeper Association in 2004 to give the Yarra a voice in the community and with the authorities. Volunteers do much of Yarra Riverkeeper’s activities, but in early 2006 the group purchased a small powerboat and appointed Ian Penrose as the official Riverkeeper.

Ask Melburnians what the problem with the Yarra is and the most common reply will be pollution. Yet, the loss of river flows due to excessive water extraction is a more worrisome, albeit under-appreciated, issue. The river is now half its natural size and, as rainfall in this dry part of the world declines further under climate change and the city keeps expanding, the situation for the Yarra will only worsen.

Two years ago, the government of Victoria — the state that sets the policy for allocating water resources — commissioned a scientific study to examine the flows needed to keep the Yarra healthy. During this time, Riverkeeper took a lead role in representing the community and the river, by actively lobbying to keep the study focused and unbiased. The study concluded that the pattern of flows have attenuated, averaging half the natural level, and need to be restored. The study’s recommendation? Water should be temporarily stored and later released to stabilize the flow pattern.

Consequently, the government announced that they would get legal environmental entitlement to a small amount of water to regulate flows.
But the government took advantage of this policy. Over the course of the year, the government took more water from the river to supply water to the city. Yarra Riverkeeper was highly critical of the government’s behavior in the media and continues to press for the river’s needs, not just for a better flow pattern, but also against an increase in extractions.

The key challenge remains pressure on government to supply water to a city whose population is growing rapidly. Today, Melbourne is in the grip of its worst drought on record and faces tight restrictions on water use. In late January, the government made an appalling decision. They decided to defer provision of the Yarra’s overdue environmental flows until the drought is over. At the same time, it would implement measures to take more water from the river. Sacrificing the health of a river that supports so many is no way to manage a drought. The government must find a long-term, sustainable water strategy to keep the Yarra alive — there is no other choice. Mark Twain once said, “Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” The fight for the Yarra River continues in earnest, and the Yarra Riverkeeper is at the vanguard.