Restoring Lake Pedder

[whynotwalk]

An aerial shot of Lake Pedder in 1971

Interesting opinion piece by Bob Brown in today's Mercury. In arguing for the the draining of the lake, he finds support from none other than Tony Abbott! Mind you that was in 1995, and the current PM has been known to change his mind

http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-new-life-for-pedder-looms-large/story-fnj4f64i-1227134570459?from=trendinglinks

[stepbystep]

DamNation is screening at The State tonight, shows how things are changing. I'll be there

http://damnationfilm.com/

[Lophophaps]

Damming Lake Pedder was a mistake. i'd like to see how the HEC's predictions at the time stack up against reality. Around then I was having a discussion regarding this and someone not involved in conservation walked by. He said, "No damn what?"

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

Support from Toby Abbott?

Maybe there's a big coal reserve under there?

[Scottyk]

Why don't we restore it
Oh that's right, it would mean that people would have to admit they were wrong to dam it in the first place. And that is very unlikely.

[doogs]

I always find it a bit ironic that Bob Brown never visited the original Lake Pedder and it is the birth place of the Green political movement.
Drain it and they will come.. I've been to a few Tasmanian lakes with beaches and the are all amazing, none on the scale of Pedder though. It would be a major drawcard for tourists to that South West area which isn't acknowledged enough for it's grandeur in my opinion.

[Overlandman]

I was one of the lucky people to land on the beach, prior to the flooding. I spent a few hours amazed by the beauty, & picked up a few Pedder Pennies,
(small flat rocks about the size of a 20 cent piece)
I would recommend they drain the lake, back to the original size.

[Dolerite Walker]

Pedder Dam was an engineering feat but an ecological disaster.

Restore Lake Pedder

[wander]

The resulting dam contributes very little to the overall scheme. It really needed to Gordon below Franklin dam to be built to realise the full potential of that massive water storage. It is almost redundant in a sense.

So it should not be a drama to drain it from a loss of power or water storage point of view.

Might have a bit of a fight with the fisher folk tho, it is very much part of their landscape now.

It would a attract a lot of tourist $ if drained. Maydena and Strathgordon would both directly benefit.

[GPSGuided]

How would there be a lot of tourist $ if drained?

[wander]

It was / is very pretty.

It is a / was a unique geological feature.

It copped a lot of visits prior to the road being built. Now there is a road you do not have to walk for a few days or fly to get there.

The fact of it being drained after all this time and various campaigns to achieve this would be a draw card. Weird but very likely.

[icefest]

It would take 30+ years to restore a semblance of normality to the drained lake Pedder. That's an incredibly long time to get any form of tourism based $.
The scar will also be a hell of a lot more painful to see than the current lake.

Considering that 40% of the water that flows through the upper Gordon Power Station is from Lake Pedder, it's hardly insignificant.
The problem with proposed 'solutions is they they'd require pumping or extra generator construction in order to provide any hydro at all.

[Stibb]

It would take 30+ years to restore a semblance of normality to the drained lake Pedder.

Where did you get that number from?
I'm more than aware of the difficulties of "restoring" nature. There are absolutely no guaranties that it will be like before, rather it's more likely it will not be like before. But it will be more like before (and better) than now. A lot better. And, yes, it can take time. But I was surprised, in a very positive way, when I saw Damnation how quickly many of the featured rivers recovered (to a large degree). I mean, WOW-quikly. After a couple of years they were actually beautiful rivers again, alive and kicking! From what I know of Pedder it's still in a good shape down there under the water so the odds are very good.

It was a crime to dam it. Let's fix it.

[wander]

40% of water through upper Gordon? I have seen figures of 10% banded about. Happy to be corrected.

[north-north-west]

It would take 30+ years to restore a semblance of normality to the drained lake Pedder.

Where did you get that number from?

The length of time rehabilitation takes is to a great degree dependent upon the growth rates of the vegetation native to the area. Even with massive assistance of planting seedlings and saplings, we won't see the old forests around the lake or along the Serpentine River in my lifetime. Indeed, not likely in the lifetimes of any current members of the forum.

Nonetheless, it's something I believe should be done. It was a special place, not just its physical beauty but its atmosphere. A drained Pedder would not be the Pedder I remember from my youth, but it would be closer to it than what we have now.

[GPSGuided]

No ideas on the importance of Lake Pedder wrt power generation and other economic indices. Given how the whole area has been under water for such a long time, I'd think it'll take at least another generation before it can get back to something we'd be happy with. As for the beach and sand, I am not sure we'll get to see it again in that pristine state. Can just imagine the amount of sediments down at the bottom after all these years. Yet again, Noah has seen the before and after of a major flood and the recovery. All is not lost. LOL!

[Stibb]

It would take 30+ years to restore a semblance of normality to the drained lake Pedder.

Where did you get that number from?

The length of time rehabilitation takes is to a great degree dependent upon the growth rates of the vegetation native to the area. Even with massive assistance of planting seedlings and saplings, we won't see the old forests around the lake or along the Serpentine River in my lifetime. Indeed, not likely in the lifetimes of any current members of the forum.

Nonetheless, it's something I believe should be done. It was a special place, not just its physical beauty but its atmosphere. A drained Pedder would not be the Pedder I remember from my youth, but it would be closer to it than what we have now.

I didn't think old forrest was very dominating? Getting old trees will obviously take much longer but I would still think you can get a fairly good semblance of "normality" much quicker (3-5 years is my guess). Also, I was curious if 30+ years was just a guess or there it is a reference to a certain study. Regardless of time, I'm all for it. I would love to see it even vaguely resembling the old gem.

[Stibb]

No ideas on the importance of Lake Pedder wrt power generation and other economic indices. Given how the whole area has been under water for such a long time, I'd think it'll take at least another generation before it can get back to something we'd be happy with. As for the beach and sand, I am not sure we'll get to see it again in that pristine state. Can just imagine the amount of sediments down at the bottom after all these years. Yet again, Noah has seen the before and after of a major flood and the recovery. All is not lost. LOL!

This is just one paper on the topic. It's been a while since I read it so I can't remember the details but you might be surprised

http://eprints.utas.edu.au/10096/1/lake-pedder.pdf

[GPSGuided]

This is just one paper on the topic. It's been a while since I read it so I can't remember the details but you might be surprised
http://eprints.utas.edu.au/10096/1/lake-pedder.pdf

Thanks and quite a positive conclusion. Hope it's true.

Another reference that could be used is Mt St Helen eruption and the amount of time it took, or taking, to regenerate the greens. Definitely counted in decades.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Featur ... helens.php

[Lophophaps]

However long restoration takes, this will not start until the place is drained to some semblance of what it was like before. So let's start.

[Scottyk]

However long restoration takes, this will not start until the place is drained to some semblance of what it was like before. So let's start.

well said

[GPSGuided]

Whilst most here are supportive of drainage, is there the same level of support out there in Tassie society? How much and where the resistance is to push this through?

[corvus]

Do we need to or can afford to do this on the off chance it will be as I remember it .
If we had the funds to do this it would be much better directed into Hospitals , Health and Education I believe as you cannot unscramble an egg.

[icefest]

40% is from the Hydro website on Lake Pedder (http://www.hydro.com.au/energy/our-powe ... don-pedder) and from the restore Pedder website's video on their restoration scheme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9wiGkaTOtQ)

The thirty year timeframe is based upon the time taken to drain (5yrs including rebuilding of dams to cope with drawdown) plus replanting (5 years) and leaving 20 years for growth. Even then, few trees and bushes will have grown to anything near what they were before.
The bathtub ring will take centuries to disappear.

The geology is largely intact. The problem is that there is no pressing need to drain it. The Pedder Galaxis is safe in Oberon, IIRC, and the pedder earthworm is extinct.

Presently the hydroelectric potential is much more important, as it is a carbon free electricity source that can be incredibly peaky. Limiting climate change will have a far, far greater effect on Tasmanian ecology, as a huge amount of Tassie fauna and flora is unable to migrate to cooler climes. The increasing summer heat and decreased rainfall can quite possibly cause extinction of our Beech forests and they will be much harder to rescue.

I know this is an unpopular opinion but I really think we should be picking our battles to have a greater impact on the continuation of what makes Tasmania unique. The money that would be put into restoring lake Pedder is much better invested in replacing Bell Bay with other renewables.

[stepbystep]

Correct icefest we should be picking our battles, and the big picture is not the tiny amount of electricity the Pedder impoundment helps create. It is sorting out our federal government that is attacking the renewable energy sector. That is the battle. We need mass solar arrays on the mainland, not dammed rivers on this little island. We need to dismantle the coal industry and embrace new technology renewables. Large scale hydro is ancient technology...

Pedder should be restored. The significance would be monumental and the process a de-engineering marvel to behold over generations. Big picture.

[corvus]

Icefest I respect your opinion however how much money do you think would be injected into Tasmania from "Pedder visitors "? not very much I think! as it would be Car accessible and just another Tassie Lake.
Why do we need to reopen this and at what cost for what reason yes Pedder was a special place for some however we have hundreds of equal "speccie" locations with ease of access.

[icefest]

I'm not sure why you said 'however' corvus - I agree very much with you about the lack of money about the old and new pedder.

SBS, I'm not sure if I made this clear, but I support the restoration of the old Lake Pedder, but do not think it's currently worth the money they would have to be put into it and think the the hydropower, small as it may seem, is important to prevent this trend from continuing:


I agree with you wholeheartedly about the current government, but I'd like to point out that large scale hydro is the largest worldwide renewable energy.

The main thing is that as the geology of pedder is still intact, but all plants underneath the water are dead, a near-term restoration is not necessary. I suspect that it would be better to do sometime mid-century.

The other thing (and this is much more about the actual restoration) is that all funding for the replanting needs to be in place before draining begins. Once the water is down, replanting is of utmost importance and should be completed as fast as possible.

[GPSGuided]

Do dams have a finite life span? Just wait for it to crumble.

[doogs]

The Green political movement originated with the damming of Lake Pedder. This one issue and the formation of the UTG is recognised, worldwide, as the birth place of The Greens. The Green party is far more successful is many parts of the world where their economies are not heavily reliant on extraction/destruction of natural resources. The reclaimation of Lake Pedder would undoubtedly be celebrated and publicised around these ecocentric countries in the world bringing in the tourists. Just my opinion, they may not care at all!

[GPSGuided]

I still don't see the tourists in the short-medium term. In the foreseeable future following drainage, it'll be an empty tub, devoid of visually pleasing life forms. Give it a few decades and there'd be hope... Then the tourists load will again trash the place. Low key, out of sight and out of interest of human - The best way to conserve.