Snowy River

The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It starts on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mountain. It gets its water from the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, and then flows through the Snowy River National Park in Victoria and finally into Bass Strait. Up until the middle of the 20th century, the river was known for the large amount of fresh water it carried, its wide reach and large rapids. 
The river's course and surroundings have not changed very much, as it is protected by the Snowy River National Park. However, its flow of water was almost stopped in the 1950's by the building of the Snowy Mountains Scheme to make hydroelectricity. Four large dams were built, at Guthega, Island Bend, Eucumbene, and Jindabyne, as well as many smaller dams and tunnels. Less than 1% of the river flow, as measured at Jindabyne, New South Wales, continued to flow down the river. Concern over the health of river led to an agreement between the state and federal governments to increase the amount of water released back into the river. From 2002 to 2008 the flow was increased from 1% to 4%. The agreement planned to increase the flow to 15% by 2009 and 21% by 2012.