The water always wins!

May 2021

Andy Taylor - Senior Natural Resource Management Advisor

Management of our waterways is essential for protecting our natural resources and maintaining healthy and productive agricultural environments. Sound decisions based on best practice and science are needed, especially when storm and flood events are just around the corner.

A geologist friend told me many years ago that “the water always wins” and he is precisely right. What he meant was we can’t simply stop water. It’s a powerful force in nature and will always continue to flow no matter what we build in its way. Unfortunately, where uninformed decisions are made, there’s the potential for disastrous consequences including damage to infrastructure, wildlife and livestock losses and severe erosion.

So, if water always wins, even when well informed management decisions have been made, how can we protect our landscapes and farms from damage?

We may not always think of it, but as land managers the actions we take, intentionally or not, can influence the severity of storms and floods.

• over clearing and overgrazing hills increases the rate of rainfall runoff which accumulates faster in the lower catchment causing floods to peak at higher levels.
• uncontrolled grazing along creeks and rivers can diminish riparian vegetation which act as a buffer against erosion during flood events.
• unmaintained vehicle and livestock tracks can divert significant amounts of water to unwanted areas, creating head cuts which can lead to gully erosion.
• poorly built crossings in creeks and rivers can also wash out and trigger erosion events.

But the good news is there are simple ways to address these challenges to improve the resilience of our properties and those downstream from us. By putting these simple measures in place, we can improve the productivity of our natural and farming landscapes.

We all have a story of flooding and erosion, let’s make one about something better!

Call the Braidwood office of South East Local Land Services on (02) 4842 3800 to ask about the strategies you can use to mitigate against the impacts of storms and floods on your property and possible avenues to help fund these activities.