IS THE CLARENCE RIVER MIGHTY?

As we head into our traditional winter dry season, current weather conditions are worrying. Grafton has just experienced a prolonged period of hot weather with maximum daily temperatures at an incredible 5°C above average, peaking on 10^th April at 37.1°C, breaking the previous record by1.5°C.

 

With rainfall since October just one third of the long-term average, river flows and dam levels have declined rapidly. The situation is particularly dire for bushland environments that are still struggling to recover from the catastrophic 2019 fire-storm.

 

Water is life, and we are fortunate in that the valley’s lifeblood is provided by the state’s largest river system, affectionately called the “mighty Clarence”. However, the entire system is under stress and while the more remote wilderness areas are still relatively pristine, with waters cascading through dramatically picturesque mountain landscapes, the same cannot be said for the lower reaches of the river.

 

There are hundreds of kilometres of waterways across the valley that should more realistically be described as a depleted environment with sterile weed-infested banks, trampled by livestock with little left to attract native birds and animals. Further down the river system has been drained, distorted, and confined by levy banks into a single murky channel of water which is certainly no longer mighty.

 

So, can the Clarence River continue to help buffer us against the insidious impacts of climate change? Is it currently able to withstand the impacts of more intense rainfall events and resultant flooding and irreparable bank erosion, or continue to provide the basic needs of humans and the natural environment in the face of ever higher temperatures and frequent droughts?

 

To rescue the river and allow it to recover its best possible potential, it has to be protected. River and creek banks throughout the entire catchment need to be revegetated, and livestock excluded, something that all landowners can be involved in for their own benefit in reducing erosion of their land, as well as providing improved water quality for the entire population, and the wildlife we all want to thrive.

 

-        John Edwards

  Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent , 24 April, 2026.

 

GUARDING THE CLARENCE RIVER

 For many years Clarence River health has been a concern for people living in its very extensive catchment.  Past health threats including plans to divert major flows to the west or the north have been met with very strong community opposition which led to these plans being dropped. 

More recently the threat posed by the uptake of mining leases in the search for critical minerals has alarmed the river’s protectors. The Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA) has been alerting the community and local councils to how damaging mining pollution of the Clarence would be to the drinking water of over 100,000 urban dwellers as well as important local industries including fishing, agriculture and tourism.  Its recent public meetings in Grafton, Copmanhurst, Drake and Dorrigo were the precursors for a deputation to Sydney several weeks ago.  The CCA, along with many in the local community, want the State Government to ban mineral mining in our catchment and this was the case they took to the State Government.  If the Government fails to act as it should, the campaign will continue.

Clarence River health and the need to protect it in the long term is the focus of another group which has been gathering community support in recent months.  The Clarence River Guardians, launched early this year, has a range of members including representatives from organisations including First Nations people, the CCA, Canegrowers, Clarence Council, environment groups, Landcare, and local High Schools.

The River Guardians have developed a citizen science project in partnership with Southern Cross University.  This project will help establish parameters and scientific information that will assist in protecting and understanding the Clarence and its catchment.

The first part of the project is a baseline study of river sediments where volunteers, in collaboration with First Nations Custodians, will collect 100 or more river sediment samples from key locations across the catchment on October 18-19.  Samples will be analysed for over 50 elements including heavy metals with the data being stored as a community resource. 

For more information or to volunteer, check  https://www.clarenceriverguardians.net

-        Leonie Blain

  Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent , 27th  August, 2025.

MINING IN THE CANGAI AREA WEST OF GRAFTON

Research into the minerals exploration that has been underway in the Cangai area since 1917 has revealed numerous inadequacies across the entire monitoring and compliance system.

When the exploration company began reporting the finding of high grade ore, and the possibility of establishing an open-cut mine atop a mountain adjacent to the Mann River, local residents naturally became concerned.

A critical assessment of the company's licence application reinforced those concerns. Nowhere in that document is there any mention of the Mann River which, at Cangai, is little more than a kilometre away, and delivers some 70% of the Clarence River's total flow. Instead, in answer to the question asking what were the nearest waterways that might be impacted by the works, the proponent nominated Bobward and Smelter Creeks, two small ephemeral gullies that drain into the Mann.

Also, there is an assertion that only 40 square metres (5 metres by 8 metres) of bush would be cleared for each of the many drill sites - clearly an inadequate area for the safe operation of a drill rig, trucks and associated machinery.

An application to be included in the mandatory community consultation via the company's “contact us” portal, received no response whatsoever, forcing us to contact the regulatory authority, requesting an investigation be carried out.

Investigators from the NSW Resources Regulator subsequently undertook an on-site inspection, and a month later a media release informed the public that they had suspended all operations under the company’s two exploration licences.

The Regulator cited the reasons for the suspension as, “a lack of sediment and erosion controls; poor management of drill cuttings/waste materials; clearing and excavation works undertaken outside of approved limits; the drilling of bore holes without approval; and a failure to progressively rehabilitate in approved time frames”.

While it is gratifying to read that action is being taken, we have to ask would any inspection have occurred had members of the public not reported these breaches?  The number of cases like this is evidence that self-regulation doesn't work; so it seems that, until regulatory authorities are adequately resourced, vigilance is the key.

            - John Edwards

NOTE: The Mann River is major tributary of the Clarence River.

This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on January 14, 2019. 

DIVERTING THE CLARENCE RIVER IS AGAIN ON THE AGENDA

Calls to divert the waters of the Clarence River occur regularly.  The latest calls have come from Griffith (once again) in the south-west and Toowoomba to our north.

 

One of the claims of those promoting dams and diversions is that the water flowing out to sea from the Clarence is wasted. 

That is missing the point of the function of natural waterways.  They are not concrete-lined drains constructed by engineers to serve humankind. Rivers have developed over millennia to perform geomorphic and ecological functions which involve interactions with the landscape and the myriad of life forms which depend on their water.

All major diversion schemes obviously involve the construction of large dams.  Those dreaming of a western diversion envisaged something like a Snowy Scheme of the north with massive tunnels and pumps. Such a scheme would lead to the Clarence below the dam being as degraded as the Snowy River became as a result of the Snowy Scheme. 

 

And if the water was diverted to the Murray-Darling Basin, as those in Griffith and elsewhere over the range would like, would it be used to improve the health of the river systems there or to allow expansion of the cotton industry in the north and horticulture in the south?

 

Another suggestion is that humankind downstream would benefit if there was a massive dam built on the Clarence for flood protection.  In floodtime, particularly when there are very heavy falls across the entire catchment, the volume of water flowing down the Clarence is huge. How big would a flood protection dam have to be?  Just how realistic is this idea? 

While floods cause problems for humans on floodplains, they are vital to the rejuvenation of the river system. The health of the Clarence and the industries which rely on it – like our important fishing industry - would be severely impacted if such a dam were built just as it would be if the river was dammed for a diversion.

One way of keeping the Clarence River healthy is to ensure that there are no further diversions or dams.

            - Leonie Blain

 This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on May 28, 2018.