Water Overview
Safeguarding Tasmania’s Vital Water Resources
The Water Theme highlights Tasmania’s key water assets, such as rivers, estuaries, wetlands, waterbodies, and coastal and marine systems, which support vital industries like agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture. These water resources also sustain essential infrastructure, including hydro-electric power, drinking water supply, wastewater treatment, and ports. However, climate change, development, land use changes, and ageing infrastructure are increasing pressure on these assets.
Emerging threats like drought, bushfires, and floods present ongoing challenges in water resource management. Effective protection and management of these resources are closely tied to land and biodiversity management, with actions across all Themes, including soil and erosion control and the conservation of aquatic species and riparian vegetation, contributing to the health of Tasmania’s water systems.
Rivers, Floodplains and Estuaries
The movement of fresh surface and groundwater through the landscape sustains ecological, economic, and social values, with the ecological importance of catchments and estuaries, along with current and emerging threats, informing the identification of priorities and actions for rivers, floodplains, and estuaries.
Wetlands and other Waterbodies
Wetlands and other waterbodies, including internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands, support high-value ecological communities and are acknowledged for their conservation value at national and regional levels.
Coastal and Marine Areas
Current NRM Water Projects & Initiatives
Improving habitat in the Mersey River estuary for threatened species
About the project This project aims to improve the foreshore and estuarine environments of the Mersey River for Eastern Curlew, Australasian Bittern, Australian Grayling and other native species. Key project outcomes include control of Rice Grass in the threatened...
Maugean Skate Recovery – Healthy Harbour Project
About the project This project delivers urgent recovery actions required to reduce the Maugean Skate’s (Zearaja maugeana) extinction risk. CCA’s Healthy Harbour project team collaborates with the Strahan and West Coast community to improve public understanding and...
Celebrating the coastal wetlands of Circular Head
About the project Showcasing the unique beauty of the Robbins Passage – Boullanger Bay tidal wetlands and highlighting the ecological, economic and social values of this place for the Circular Head and Cradle Coast community. This project builds on years of...
Creating a Hooded Plover Stronghold on Three Hummock Island
About the project Cradle Coast NRM is working to create a stronghold for the Hooded Plover (Thinornis rubricollis), a priority threatened species, on Three Hummock Island by reducing feral cat predation, a significant threat to Hooded Plovers. This project continues...