NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment - Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap Virtual Engagement Room

Wet weather in the upper catchments of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers in 2020 was an opportunity for the Reconnecting Program team to improve accuracy of the Program’s models. In the first week of August 2020, flows in the Murrumbidgee River peaked at ~44,000 ML at Wagga Wagga, and flows in the Murray River peaked at ~30,000 ML at Yarrawonga.

The program team were out on the ground collecting data to map where the water went, and at what level. The team sourced satellite, aerial and on ground images, took manual gauge readings, and worked with landholders to install monitoring cameras on their properties.

This data helps us understand what this volume of flows looks like on the ground, and share that information with the community. We will use it in future conversations with landholders and communities to ground-truth inundation maps.

These sliders demonstrate the difference between regular flows and the natural event that occurred in 2020. The Program will release the aerial imagery later in 2022.

This page provides access to the Reconnecting River Country Program’s modelled inundation extents in an interactive web map.

These maps indicate the extent to which water would occasionally travel across the landscape under the program's investigated flow options. For more information on the modelling process, click here.

The program is divided up into sub-reaches, each of which is shown in the map below. To view the web maps for your area of interest, identify the area code and select the applicable link below.

The program is actively developing models and as a result, not all outputs are ready for display. If an area of the program that you are interested in is not currently available, please sign up for updates to be notified as new areas are released.

The spatial maps of the Reconnecting River Country Program inundation extents contained on this website (“Inundation Maps”) are produced for information purposes only.

The inundation extents shown in the Inundation Maps are best available as at June 2022. The mapping has been prepared to provide an indication of the extent of inundation possible for the flow options being investigated in the Reconnecting River Country Program’s Strategic Business Case, and to support associated stakeholder engagement processes in 2022. The mapping has undergone desktop checking against available aerial photography and satellite imagery, but is yet to be checked on-ground with landholders and other stakeholders. Therefore, the mapping should be treated as provisional at this stage. Subject to NSW and Commonwealth Government approvals to proceed with further flow option evaluations and the preparation of the Reconnecting River Country Program's Final Business Case, the inundation mapping will be ‘ground-truthed’ with affected landholders and stakeholders, and refined based on the outcomes of that process. The mapping is intended to represent the upper limit of inundation associated with the flow options being investigated, noting most environmental flow deliveries will result in smaller areas of inundation.

Landowners are invited to take part in an online case study

Private landholders owning property adjacent to the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers and their creek systems are invited to participate in an online case study.

Online case studies enable potentially affected landholders to engage with the program using a web map designed to show the modelled flow options on their property.

Participants can provide feedback on the benefits and impacts of different flow options, identify assets on their property, view inundation maps and validate modelling.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, a program representative will contact you within two weeks to begin the process.

Apply to do an online case study.

Disclaimer:

The State of New South Wales, including the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (“the department”), does not give any warranty, guarantee or representation about the accuracy, currency or completeness of any information contained in the Inundation Maps (including, without limitation, any information included in the Inundation Maps which was provided by third parties). The State of New South Wales (including the department) provides the Inundation Maps without assumption of a duty of care to any person.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the State of New South Wales (including the department) excludes all liability in relation to the information contained in the Inundation Maps or for any injury, expense loss, or damage whatsoever (including without limitation liability for negligence and consequential losses) suffered or incurred by any person acting or purporting to act in reliance upon any information contained herein.