Share your thoughts on Buckley Falls

Share your thoughts on Buckley Falls

Corangamite CMA has secured $1.67 million in Australian Government funding to improve fish passage in the lower Barwon River, including at Buckley Falls.

At Buckley Falls, the project will focus on planning and constructing a fishway to help native fish move more freely along the river. Removing barriers to movement is critical to supporting fish to feed, breed and complete their lifecycle.

Buckley Falls Barriers

The Buckley Falls area is made up of a complex of barriers that impede fish migration and movement. These are a combination of artificial, partial natural, and natural barriers that are made worse with reduced surface water flows through regulation within the Barwon River basin.

These barriers have collectively been prioritised as the most significant barriers within the Barwon and Moorabool River basins from an ecological perspective. This is based on the physical characteristics of the barriers, location within the system, and the native fish species distributions.

Barrier 1 - upstream

The upstream ‘barrier 1’ is a major barrier to native fish moving through the Barwon River. The site is made up of natural bluestone bedrock, along with an artificial concrete and stone cap. Overall, the river drops about 4.5 metres over a short distance (around 30 metres), which is too steep for most native fish to navigate.
 
For fish to move successfully upstream, a much gentler slope is needed—closer to a 1 metre drop over 30 metres.
 
To address this, we are proposing to build a fish ladder on the north side of Buckley Falls. This would act like a series of small steps, made up of specially designed pools. Each pool would have a small drop (around 100 mm), giving fish a place to rest as they gradually move upstream.
 
The design would also make use of the existing bedrock to form part of the channel.
 
To improve how well the fish ladder works, we are also proposing to remove the artificial “sawtooth” concrete capping. This would reduce the overall height of the barrier and make it easier for fish to migrate.

+Design Concepts - barrier 1 (click to view)

Barrier 2 - downstream

A smaller secondary barrier is mostly natural, although it’s unclear whether past human activity has made it worse. It creates a challenge for fish, particularly during low river flows, with a height difference of about 1.3 metres.
 
To improve fish movement and support overall river health, we are proposing a nature-like rock pool fish ladder at this site. This approach uses existing rock to create a series of small pools, helping fish move upstream more easily.
 
The design will blend with the natural environment, maintain public access and viewing areas, and improve the existing pathway along the river.

+Design Concepts - barrier 2 (click to view)

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