On August 29, water was released from the Beetaloo Reservoir in an effort to preserve ancient river red gums and assist Nukunu to care for and connect to Country.
This follows water releases from the Baroota Reservoir a couple weeks prior and similar trial releases from the Beetaloo and Baroota reservoirs in 2021 and 2022.
These releases were in response to community concern about the health of the ancient trees, many of which are estimated to be more than 500 years old.
More than a billion litres of water from the two releases flowed the into Baroota and Crystal Brook creeks in an effort to improve the resilience of the river red gums and refresh natural habitats for frogs, fish, birds and bugs.
Project partners and local community will monitor and record progress of the water flowing along the creeks to safeguard creek infrastructure and surrounding properties, while also surveying the response of water-dependent animals.
The releases are part of the collaborative Environmental and Cultural Flows project, led by the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board with support from SA Water, the Department for Environment and Water (DEW), Flinders University, Nukunu Wapma Thura Aboriginal Corporation and local communities.
AW attended the Beetaloo water release, just outside of Crystal Brook, and interviewed Nukunu Wapma Thura Aboriginal Corporation chair Travis Thomas, Nukunu Elder Laurie Thomas, DEW senior ecologist, Dr Douglas Green and Northern and Yorke Landscape Board planning officer Jennifer Munro.
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