Cyclone Narelle in the Works

Riverbank at Ranford Pool – opposite public reserve area

Cyclone Narelle threw a giant spanner in our Hotham River works scheduled for late March. While the cyclone itself didn’t reach Boddington, projected water flows made us have a closer look and ultimately decide to defer works until next year.    

River rehabilitation is the modification of the banks using a combination of re-sloping, rocks and woody debris to create a surface over which water can travel safely without risk of erosion and to provide habitat for the flora and fauna that live in and near the river. ‘Rehab’ sometimes involves adding structures that can be used by humans without impacting the fragile environment in a negative way. For example, the access steps that were installed on the river at Ranford Pool in 2017-18.

During 2019-2020 PHCC carried out foreshore condition assessments at eight sites on the Hotham and Williams Rivers which had been identified as priority sites due to environmental, cultural and social values. Along with desktop assessment of the remainder of the catchment, this resulted in the Hotham-Williams River Action Plan (RAP). A copy of this can be found on the PHCC website https://peel-harvey.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hotham-Williams-RAP-Final.pdf . One of the main purposes of the RAP was to make a set of recommendations to improve the health of the rivers at the eight sites. These recommendations are different for each site, and broadly include weed control, revegetation, fencing to control stock access, bank rehabilitation, and installation of safe access points for stock and humans. After extensive community consultation during 2021, a restoration plan has been produced for each site including Ranford Pool. Site plans can also be found on the PHCC website https://peel-harvey.org.au/phcc_publications/water-quality/ .

The plan was to carry out our next stage of works for restoring the river, on the banks opposite to the public reserve area, focussing on over half a kilometre of compacted and largely bare banks, but for the paperbarks and flooded gums clinging to the edges.

By mid-March the rocks and logs had been delivered, the contractor was booked, and the ground staff were poised for action. Most importantly, the local Elders and Knowledge Holders were ready to Welcome us and be part of returning a piece of the river to a healthier version of itself. Then came the forecast of 100mm local rainfall and a possible 1m rise in river levels. So, in the name of safety and caution, we called it – we should not go ahead with on-ground works at this time. But this certainly did not mean cancelling plans entirely – we will recommence next season when the water is at its lowest point. This time, we will schedule it during February to avoid the March-April period of cyclones and storms ‘up North’ that sometimes impact the southwest during that time.

How beautiful is the Hotham River? It’s not often we get waterways this size in drier parts of the southwest. Just look at the wide-spanning and chilly-deep Ranford Pool, and the curving streams through the nest of paperbarks and flooded gums down to the town bridge and the pool above the weir. Notice the long, winding connection with Country upstream through farmland to Pumphreys Bridge – another Cultural place of meeting located on a Dreaming track. Not only do we need to protect these precious areas, but we also need to restore them – for acknowledgement of Culture & Country, for community access to natural areas, and for the flora and fauna that call it home. Like the rakali (native water rat) Hydromus chrysogaster, considered regionally threatened in WA because of habitat loss and degradation to our rivers. They love lots of woody debris, and we are super-keen to create a cosy home for them to live and feed on the riverside at Ranford Pool, with the added benefit of protecting the banks from erosion and creating areas for natural regeneration and revegetation.

In the coming months, take a stroll to the waterside at Ranford Pool and look towards the other side of the river – notice the grandmother trees in need of care and attention, waiting for the next generation to grow around them. And then check it out again this time next year when we have begun the process of doing just that, starting with work on the riverbank itself. And we’d love you to drop into the Boddington office for a chat about our projects, or maybe some advice about native species for a natural area in your own backyard.

As for Narelle, she will be transformed into a different manifestation and letter of the alphabet next time around – Cyclone Orlando? (To extend the metaphor.)  Just not until after we have finished our work on the river.

This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program and Newmont (Boddington).