Science to practice: Advances in riverbank form and vegetation monitoring inform environmental flow decisions

Webinar
-
2026
River Flows and Connectivity
Goulburn River and Northern Victorian Tributaries
Presenters:
Thom Gower
Dr Geoff Vietz
Lydia Drake

Presentation Description

The Goulburn River and Northern Victorian Tributaries (GRANT) Area-scale Project team, presented by partners from Streamology and Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, describe the evolution of drone-based riverbank monitoring and how it has strengthened the evidence base for environmental flow management. With a focus on examples from the work on the Goulburn River, the team outline:

  • How managers identified a gap in their ability to attribute riverbank erosion to specific flow conditions
  • The novel drone approach used to measure riverbank change at high resolution, timed around managed flow events
  • What the monitoring revealed about how riverbanks respond to different types of flow release
  • How those findings changed the way environmental flows are planned and delivered
  • Extending the use of drones to monitoring riverbank vegetation patterns and condition as it relates to flow
  • How flow operations are informed by the science
  • How this knowledge can be applied across waterways of the Murray–Darling Basin

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Our work in the Goulburn River and Northern Victorian Tributaries

The Goulburn River and Northern Victorian Tributaries (GRANT) Area includes the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe and Loddon River systems. Learn about the work we're doing in this river system and key insights gained as part of the Flow-MER program.

Learn more
Artwork credit: Wiradjuri Artist Rebecca Salcole
Acknowledgement of Country

The Flow-MER Program team acknowledges the First Nations communities of the Murray–Darling Basin and pays respect to Elders past and present.

We acknowledge First Nations people as the Traditional Owners of the land, water and sky Country across the Basin and value the expertise, wisdom and enduring connections that have informed their care for Country over millennia.

We recognise the intrinsic connection of First Nations people to Country, and we value the enduring cultural, social, environmental, spiritual, and economic connection to the rivers, wetlands, and floodplains of the Basin. We are committed to working with First Nations people across the Murray–Darling Basin to build relationships in a meaningful and genuine way to support and empower them in reaching their aspirations.

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