The Snowy River now

3.1 The Community view

The Snowy River (the Snowy) has been degraded since the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme primarily as a result of the 99 per cent harvest and diversion of water from the upper Snowy catchment. It is obvious that the nature and ecological integrity of the Snowy River would collapse or be significantly altered by such a complete reduction in river flow, with dire impacts for the river from beginning to end.

The Snowy River communities expressed their concern about the impacts to the Snowy River before the original Snowy Mountains Hydro Power Act was passed in the Victorian Parliament in 1949. This is evidenced in the Victorian second reading speech at that time. Since then, many individuals and organisations have expressed concern about the effects of damming the Snowy River. These include farmers, townspeople, the Upper Snowy Landcare group, and holiday-makers. Some of the Victorian old timers recognised the Snowy River was in trouble not long after the completion of the Scheme. Unfortunately the Victorian Government had signed away all rights to water from the upper Snowy catchment as part of the Snowy Scheme's inter-State agreements.

The Snowy River at Dalgety 1997

Exposed sand, worn rocks, willows reeds and stagnating pools are the most common sight along the Snowy River

The Snowy River has virtually disappeared in many parts of the upper catchment and is seriously affected in the middle and lower reaches. The variation in impacts along its length include a nearly empty and overgrown river bed, a series of stagnating, lifeless pools, to a river that has an inappropriate form and experiences insufficient flows too often.

Lower Snowy River near Orbost 1988

Whilst the physical impacts along the full length of the Snowy River are varied as a result of regulation, the Snowy River communities' view of the river now, could be summed up as:

"A highly degraded waterway that has very little in common with the original Snowy River."(2)

Unfortunately, the additional comments from the townspeople and graziers below describe typical features of the Snowy River today:

It has none of its original character.
In places the Snowy River is almost unrecognisable.
Has virtually no life.
The conditions are still deteriorating.
No semblance of the original Snowy.
Has lost virtually all the social and economic values.
We cannot pump from the river anymore because of the salt wedge (Orbost farmers)
We have lost the water table and cannot grow lucerne (Monaro Farmers)
We cannot pump from the river because there is not enough water in it.

The Snowy River at Dalgety,1996

What are some of the feelings of Snowy River communities to the present condition of the river?

A bloody disgrace.
They destroyed it.
Just plain greedy. It wasn't their river anyway.
You'd expect to see this in a third world country.
They were only going to take the snow melt.
No-one thought we were going to lose the river.
People stopped coming here.
It's nothing but a series of mud pools.
It never had all that rubbish in it.
Break your heart.
We deserve to still have a river and do the things we used to do.
What about our values, the social and economic opportunities?
What will our children have, and their children?
They made a big mistake.

A recent photo of the Lower Snowy

The condition of the Snowy River is of deep concern to Snowy River communities and judging from the national and international media coverage, comments made in the New South Wales and Federal Parliaments, the holding up of the Snowy Hydro Bill and response from around the country, it is of national concern.

The Japanese media sent out a film crew in 1997 and televised to millions of Japanese people the result of over exploitation of the Snowy River, as an educational message on what not to do. They are keen to return and film the rehabilitation of the Snowy River. The issue has also been televised through Southeast Asia.

3.2 A scientific view

Some of the findings from the Snowy River environmental flow scoping study and the Snowy River Expert Panel Report of 1996 are listed below:

Releases from Jindabyne Dam to the Snowy River take no account of ecosystem needs.
The regulation can reasonably be expected to have changed the composition of the aquatic biota in most reaches of the river.
The altered flow regime has also affected human usage of the river.
Prior to damming, the Snowy River flow exhibited strong seasonal behaviour.
Flood peaks of varying size occurred in all months.
The changes in flow regime have had substantial impacts on the geomorphology, fauna, and riparian flora between Jindabyne Dam and Marlo on the Victorian coast.

The Snowy River near Dalgety, just an overgrown swamp