Major step in South West water monitoring project gives farmers firsthand access to real-time water info

A major step in a South West water monitoring project is giving farmers firsthand access to real-time water information.

Growers and community members in the Manjimup-Pemberton area can now access the Record Brook gauging station’s up-to-date data after key upgrades to water monitoring infrastructure.

The Record Brook upgrade is the first initiative to be delivered under the $2 million Warren-Donnelly Streamflow Monitoring Improvement Project aiming to significantly enhance the quality and availability of water monitoring information across the region.

The project is part of a $15.3m State Government package aiming to strengthen water security and monitoring in the Manjimup-Pemberton area.

In a report by the Southern Forests Irrigation Reference Group, improving streamflow monitoring was a key recommendation alongside a need for better data to understand the impacts of climate and forest management on regional river flows.

Live streamflow and river height data from Record Brook can now be publicly accessed from Department of Water and Environmental Regulation’s River Monitoring Stations website.

Water, Climate Resilience and South West Minister Don Punch said the development was a step forward for water monitoring in the region.

“This will help local growers adapt to climate change and give everyone a better understanding of how water flows in the area,” he said.

“With real-time data available online, the community has greater transparency and confidence in how water is being measured and managed.”