Water Management
Sustainable Rivers Audit
The Sustainable Rivers Audit (SRA) provides the first Murray-Darling Basin-wide assessment of river health. It is a collaborative study between the state jurisdictions, the Australian Government and the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. The study has so far focussed on three key indicators of river health — macroinvertebrates, fish and hydrology. It is proposed to add river physical form and riverine vegetation in coming years to enhance the assessment of the Basin's rivers.
Information provided by the SRA on river health will be a key input to the development of the Basin Plan by the newly established Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
The information generated by the SRA is also being used by NSW in reporting against the Riverine Ecosystem statewide target embedded within State Plan Priority E4.
The Department of Water and Energy in conjunction with Department of Environment and Climate Change and Department of Primary Industries, have expanded the SRA assessment methodology to include the whole of NSW, thereby using a proven and respected methodology to provide a consistent measure of river health across all major catchments of NSW.