NORTH East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA) has sought to reassure the community that fallen trees in the Ovens River at Harrietville pose little risk to river flow, despite local residents and state MPs voicing their concern on the issue.
Local resident Verona Sullivan raised the issue with Nationals MP for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, who is also the Coalition's Shadow Minister for Water.
Mr McCurdy inspected the area in mid-October and said he had "grown tired of meeting NECMA for them to tell me they have no money to fix the river blockages”.
“After a recent meeting in Harrietville where it is difficult to even see the river's principal pathway, I asked NECMA what they would do in these circumstances if they had the money; the answer baffled me, it was pretty much ‘leave it how it is’," he said.
“Our rivers need to be cleaned out so that water and debris will flow downstream.
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“Allowing rivers like the King and the Ovens to build up with fallen trees is appalling.
“I invited the Shadow Minister for the Environment, James Newbury, to investigate and he agrees with me that blocking our waterways with fallen trees will only spell disaster for towns like Harrietville when the river is in flood.”
In response to inquiries from the Alpine Observer/Mytleford Times, a NECMA spokesperson said trees falling into rivers is part of a natural process.
“Large wood (snags) and native vegetation (instream, bank and riparian) play an important role in influencing the health of rivers,” the spokesperson said.
“Taking wood or removing trees, shrubs and reeds from the bed and banks of waterways and from riparian land typically leads to poorer water quality, eroded riverbanks and degraded ecosystems.
“Fallen timber also provides critical habitat for aquatic fauna such as fish and platypus, providing perches for birds such as kingfishers, and basking sites for freshwater turtles.
“In some circumstances, there may be a requirement to remove blockages to protect public or private assets such as buildings, fences, or roads.
“In these circumstances the North East CMA can issue permits to undertake such works.
“More information about managing vegetation and large wood in and around waterways can be found on the Department of Energy Environment and Climate Change website.”
For more information https://www.water.vic.gov.au/waterways/managing-vegetation-in-and-around-waterways.
