North East Catchment Management Authority’s ‘Uncovering the Ovens’ is one of 10 state-wide Flagship Waterways projects made possible through ‘Water for Victoria’ and the Victorian Government’s $222 million investment in waterway and catchment health. These large-scale, long-term restoration projects have been identified as priorities for action through consultation with communities and key stakeholders.
THE OVENS RIVER
The Ovens River rises in the Victorian Alps near Mount Feathertop and Mount Hotham, where it is linked to significant freshwater meadows and marshes on the slopes of the Alpine and Mount Buffalo National Parks. Formed by the confluence of its east and west branches at Harrietville, the Ovens River flows north-west towards Bright, fed by many tributaries. The Ovens River is a significant contributor to the Murray-Darling Basin; comprising 0.7% of the catchment area, it contributes 6% of the basin water.
The Ovens River has been greatly modified since European settlement by land clearing, changing land use, gold mining practices and the introduction of willows and other invasive plant and animal species. These activities have had a long-lasting impact on the river. Despite these challenges, the river is highly valued for the environmental, social and economic benefits it provides to landholders, towns and communities.
LONG-TERM VISION
- By 2040 the health and resilience of the upper Ovens River will be improved.
- The river system will be more resilient to high flow events and provide a consistent native vegetation corridor that will be connected and diverse.
- Instream habitat structures will have increased to provide areas of habitat for the river’s important aquatic and terrestrial fauna species.
- Woody weed infestations will have significantly reduced, increasing the accessibility for many users.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
- Streamside vegetation structure improved along the river
- Improved stream channel resilience to protect existing
- infrastructure and past investment
- Opportunities for recreation improved, with more access points along the waterway leading to greater visitor numbers and increased local expenditure
- Water quality maintained to support potable water supply
- Improvement in aquatic biota
PHASED APPROACH
The Flagship Project involves four phases of long-term river management. This approach to river restoration includes the creation of a long-term vision (out to 2040) with a timetable and costing of river works and recovery. There will be many years of coordinated actions to achieve the long-term objectives. The four phases are:
- Planning and target setting
- Taking action
- Recovery and growth
- Target achieved
‘Uncovering the Ovens’ is entering Phase 2 Taking Action. Phase 1 of this project commenced in 2016 and since then has included extensive planning in consultation with the key community groups which has allowed priority actions to be identified and on ground works to commence to address the project objectives.
This project is part of the Victorian Government’s $222 million investment over four years to improve catchment and waterway health across regional Victoria.
Project Steering Group
This project has a Project Steering Group made up of a mix of agency staff including Parks Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Alpine Shire, Mount Hotham Resort Management Board as well as community groups including Upper Ovens Valley Landcare Group, Myrtleford and District Landcare and Sustainability Group, Tronoh Dredge Committee of Management and the Australian Trout Foundation. In 2023 a Rehabilitation Plan was developed with input from the Project Steering Group and broader community to guide future works in the Upper Ovens. An accompanying technical Report was also produced to support the priorities identified in the Rehabilitation Plan.
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