WaterNSW aims to boost native fish numbers by installing pump intake screens on irrigation pumps on the Peel River.
Seven self-cleaning screens have been installed on a pump intake downstream of Chaffey Dam to prevent native fish – including larvae and juveniles – from being drawn into irrigation pumps.
According to NSW DPIRD Fisheries research, fish-friendly screens can protect up to 90 per cent of fish, with novel designs reducing water intake velocity and preventing fish from becoming trapped against screens or drawn into the irrigation system.
The screens are also expected to reduce maintenance and operating costs for irrigators, with a self-cleaning design clearing debris whenever pumps are operating, reducing ongoing maintenance requirements and fuel consumption.
This follows the earlier installation of 50 tree snags along the Peel River between Chaffey Dam and Tamworth, which provide critical habitat in the form of refuge, feeding and breeding habitat for native fish such as Murray Cod and Silver Perch.
The snags and fish screens work hand-in-hand – increasing habitat and breeding opportunities while helping ensure native fish and important food sources remain within the river system.
With the tree snags and pump screens in place, the final stage of the program will focus on five years of aquatic monitoring, where annual surveys including electro-fishing, larval fish sampling, macroinvertebrate monitoring and biofilm assessments will help track the program’s success and the health of fish populations in the Peel River and broader Namoi catchment.
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