The North Central Catchment Management Authority will begin releasing environmental flows down the Campaspe River this week.
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An environmental flow will begin moving down the Campaspe River this week, in a bid to protect the waterway's ongoing recovery from the 2022 floods.
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The North Central Catchment Management Authority began releasing water from Lake Eppalock on June 1, with the flow expected to continue through to early summer.
Environmental Flows Project Manager Darren White said the release was a precautionary measure ahead of what could be a difficult year for the river.
"The next 12 months could be challenging for the Campaspe," he said.
"This flow is the responsible thing to do for the health of the waterway."
Mr White said the volume released would depend on conditions, starting low given the current dry stretch and increasing if more water became available.
The flow is designed to replicate the natural winter-spring hydrology that the Eppalock wall has interrupted since the reservoir's construction.
Without the release, the northern section of the river does not receive the seasonal flows native species depend on.
The rakali is a native rodent found in Goulburn Broken catchment waterways. Photo: Roy Peachey
Mr White said fish, platypus and rakali, the Australian water rat, were among the species that would benefit.
"It means more water for fish and platypus, and healthier water downstream," he said.
"It helps prevent saline pools and the low-oxygen water conditions that can cause fish deaths, particularly below Rochester."
The flow adds to about a decade of catchment work along the river, including stock fencing, off-stream watering points, weed control and re-vegetation works.
"The community has worked so hard over the past four years to repair that flood damage," Mr White said.
"We don't want its recovery to go backwards."
The flow is authorised by the Victorian Environmental Water Holder under its Seasonal Watering Plan 2025-26.
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