Ecological outcomes
12 Ecological outcomes
Each of the following is an ecological outcome for water in the plan area—
to minimise changes to the natural variability of flows that support aquatic ecosystems;
to provide for the continued capability of one part of an aquatic system to be connected to another, including by maintaining flows that—
allow for the movement of native aquatic species between riverine, floodplain, wetland, estuarine and marine environments; and
support natural processes such as breeding, growth and migration in riverine, floodplain, wetland, estuarine and marine environments; and
support river-forming processes;
to minimise changes to natural variability in water levels to support natural ecological processes, including maintaining refugia associated with waterholes and lakes;
to minimise adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems immediately downstream of new water resource development;
to improve understanding of the matters affecting flow ecology responses of ecosystems within the plan area.
In this section—
refugia means the habitat required by a species during a time of stress, for example, drought.
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