Gooseneck Swamp refills in 2014!

Gooseneck Swamp refills in 2014!

What a difference a couple of weeks can make to a floodplain wetland!

Back on the 21st July, parts of Gooseneck Swamp were just starting to pool with water, but the majority of the swamp (although the soil was saturated) was still dry.

21st July 2014 – Waiting for flows down the Wannon River to fill Gooseneck Swamp

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and by the 6th of August, how things had changed! The majority of the swamp is now covered by roughly a foot of water – which over an area this size is a large volume – indicating that the Wannon River is now well and truly running.

6th August 2014 – Flows have arrived in Gooseneck Swamp

And, in case you are wondering – yes, the above photos are taken from the same spot, but very low cloud is completely hiding the Grampians in the second shot. Not a bad optical illusion, don’t you think?

Finally, when I was last there on the 6th of August, even though water was backing up against the trial structure, the natural flowpath from Gooseneck to Brady Swamp hadn’t quite yet started flowing – indicating the role that the structure is having in positively influencing flow dynamics and water retention in Gooseneck Swamp.

The restoration trial structure on the 21st July 2014

The restoration trial structure on the 6th August 2014

By the way, as it turns out, we did manage to find the “front line” of water slowly trickling towards Brady Swamp – only a hundred metres or so short of reaching the natural channel that connects the two swamps.

Caleb and Dale watching the Wannon River flows  slowly heading from Gooseneck Swamp towards the natural channel that discharges into Brady Swamp

Mark Bachmann