DEAR News Of The Area,

I WISH to reply to the recent letters relating to the Nambucca River.

Beverly Gibbs asks who is responsible for our rivers; the answer simply is that we all are.

The land management practices of all landholders in some way impacts the health of our rivers and streams to a lesser or greater extent.

Prior to white settlement our rivers and creeks were much narrower, deeply incised, the energy in the stream during floods low down which helped scour and clean the bed.

From the headwaters to the lower reaches a series of deep pools and riffles helped control flow rates to minimise erosion, provide aquatic habitat and control water temperature.

The banks and floodplains were well vegetated, which also assisted with temperature control and helped to dissipate energy during floods which occurred relatively quickly.

Thus destructive energy was removed from the stream and spread over the landscape.

Trees would sometimes fall into the stream, become part of the fabric of the river and assisted habitat and pondage. It is a natural occurrence.

Upon white settlement the rivers became the transport laneways for the Droughers which needed firewood for their steam engines.

Towns and villages sprang up along the waterways and estuaries, riverbanks and the flood-plains were slowly cleared.

Livestock were introduced with unfettered access to the rivers and streams.

Over time this caused destabilisation of the banks and widening of the system.

As the river widens water that once would have overtopped the banks is trapped in the stream, the greater volume of water and erosive energy held in the stream increases exponentially with the subsequent increase in erosion.
With regard to gravel extraction, it is my understanding that it was under-regulated, open to abuse and was a major cause of bed lowering.

This occurs when a section of the river bed erodes and moves upstream, known as a head cut.

I have seen these up to a metre high.

The eroded gravel then washes downstream, the river banks begin to collapse and the integrity of the system is compromised.

For the past 25-plus years Nambucca Valley Landcare in partnership with Nambucca Council, consenting authorities and landholders have been installing Bed Controls, doing bank stabilisation work, tree planting and revetment work on all arms of our river system.

We need to remember the Nambucca River, due to high rainfall, is a small but dynamic and complex system.

Accept that restoring it will take time and be ongoing for many generations to come.

Regards,
Paul SCHADEL,
Utungun.