Reimagining Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River)
Durt’Yowan has been the life source for people in the Gippsland region for thousands of years.
Through our Latrobe Transformation project, we’re working with Traditional Owners, government, community groups and partner organisations to continue the long process of restoring Durt’Yowan from a working river to a river that works again.
This partnership offers an exciting opportunity to reimagine the water future of the Durt’Yowan for the benefit of the whole Gippsland community and environment.
As we enter this next chapter for the river, discover some of its challenges and be inspired by the transformations that are already underway.
Where it begins
Durt’Yowan begins its journey high in the Victorian Alps, near Baw Baw.
These pristine upper catchments and the waters that flow from them have been the life source for people in Gippsland, including the Traditional Custodians, the Gunaikurnai, for thousands of years.
Durt’Yowan is one of the longest rivers on Gunaikurnai country. Many of the Durt’Yowan’s tributaries are branchlike flow systems that have great significance as to how the water flows and how people traversed Brayakaulung Country traditionally.
Durt’Yowan near Becks Bridge
Durt’Yowan was subject to mass catchment-scale landscape change following European settlement. We now know that land clearing, weed invasion (including willows), removing woody debris and stock access to the river have all caused significant degradation, particularly to the riparian zones.
These activities encouraged erosion, decreased water quality, removed habitat for native species and allowed introduced species such as carp to thrive.
Through the Latrobe Transformation project, our aim is to work with landholders to address these issues through:
- Riverside fencing to keep stock out of waterways
- Planting trees for habitat and to prevent erosion
- Removing willows and other weeds from river banks.
Lake Narracan
Lake Narracan near Yallourn is an artificial lake on Durt’Yowan built to supply cooling water for the power station generators.
The lake is a haven for water sports enthusiasts and has become an important recreational facility for the local community. However, it has interrupted natural water flow and connectivity along the river and its tributaries, stopping fish migration and impacting water quality downstream.
Our aim is to work with partners to explore alternative futures for Lake Narracan once the mines have closed, balancing community values with a healthy environment for the river and its wildlife.
Yallourn Power Station
Durt’Yowan has provided a critical, secure water supply for power generation for many decades.
Before the Hazelwood mine closure in 2017, power stations were using over 60 billion litres of water from the river each year – more than four times the amount allocated to the river under water for the environment entitlements.
The coal mine closures present an opportunity to reimagine the water future of the Latrobe system.
Already, 16 billion litres of water reserved for future mine expansion has been proposed for reallocated to Traditional Owners, irrigators and the environment.
We’re working with partners on a vision for the water future of Durt’Yowan post coal mine closures. The vision considers climate change, future large-scale industry in the Latrobe Valley and infrastructure requirements needed to deliver water equitably to the environment, Traditional Owners, the community and irrigators.
Return of the King
Once widespread in Gippsland’s rivers, Australian Bass are native migratory fish that need specific large water flows in late winter and early spring to cue spawning and migration. Over time, changes to the river for irrigation, water supply and other needs have impacted this natural process and reduced Bass populations.
We gave them a hand with deliveries of water for the environment that mimic flows that would happen naturally.
It’s thanks to these water for the environment efforts, as well as fish stocking programs and work to improve the health of the river, that Bass numbers in Durt’Yowan have increased and the species has moved off the Threatened Species list.
Increasing environmental water flows and removing fish barriers so fish can freely migrate up and down rivers are some of the actions proposed in the Latrobe Transformation project.
Watch a video about the efforts to bring back Bass and the benefits they provide to the river.
Wasteland to Wetlands
Heart Morass is located at the mouth of Durt’Yowan near Sale, and is part of the Latrobe wetlands.
Twenty-five years ago, this site was bare, degraded land that had been heavily grazed and was suffering from acid sulphate soils and salinity.
Thanks to the enormous efforts of private organisations the local community and partners, this former wasteland has been restored and rehabilitated into thriving wetlands of national significance for waterbirds and other wetland-dependent flora and fauna.
Today, the entire Heart Morass complex covers around 1,800 hectares and is a text-book case study for future rehabilitation projects throughout the Latrobe catchment.
As part of the Latrobe Transformation Strategy, we’ll continue our work with partners and the community to enhance Heart Morass and the wider Lower Latrobe Wetlands (Sale Common, Dowd Morass).
Connecting the mountains to the Gippsland Lakes
Durt’Yowan flows through the Lower Latrobe wetlands to its final destination – Lake Wellington part of the Ramsar listed Gippsland Lakes system.
Improving the health of the river system ultimately protects the Gippsland Lakes. Recognised internationally as a Ramsar site for their significant environmental values, this unique area is important for the abundance and diversity of wetland areas, waterbirds and native fish as well as a range of wetlands that support habitat for threatened species, important vegetation communities and migratory bird species.
Deb Sullivan from BirdLife Australia sums up the feeling of this special place:
“It’s hard not to appreciate a magnificent wetland or waterway in full health. It’s alive, its heart is beating, there are birds, frogs and beautiful flora. There is so much to embrace about it”.
Want to know more?
West Gippsland CMA is part of a collective effort to improve the health of the Durt’Yowan (Latrobe River) system, from the mountains to the Gippsland Lakes. If you’d like to get involved, or want to know more:
- Sign up to our e-newsletter
- Watch the short film Durt’Yowan: The Life Source – to learn more about the challenges and opportunities to improve the health of the river.
- Visit our project webpage.
