Murray Mouth barrages open to sea for first time in decades
Five barrages around the River Murray Mouth, including one built in 1940 at Goolwa, are open for the first time in decades to release flood waters surging downstream.
Goolwa Barrage is opening for the first time in decades to flush out rising River Murray water. Photo: Belinda Willis/InDaily
A series of 576 operational barrage bays near the mouth of the River Murray at Goolwa, Mundoo, Boundary Creek, Ewe Island and Tauwitchere have been manually opened by SA Water crews over the past few weeks.
SA Water’s senior manager of River Murray Operations Garry Fyfe said the barrages were all built in the 1940s to regulate water flows from the River Murray and stop salty seawater from flowing upstream into the Lower Lakes in South Australia.
“How we operate the barrages depends on carefully balancing the water flowing downstream and how this compares to the tidal readings at the Murray Mouth, and this includes checking water levels at least three times each day,” Fyfe said.
Ocean tides are usually higher than Lake Alexandrina’s water levels, but flooding is affecting communities right along the River Murray with a first peak flow of 175GL to 180GL expected in Renmark on Monday, the highest levels since 1974.
“The significant increase in water currently flowing down the River Murray has seen us gradually opening all of the operational 576 gates across the five barrages, to maximise the amount of water released out to sea,” Fyfe said.
“For context, the last time we saw such a significant number of bays open at the barrages was at the break of the Millennium Drought in 2010-11, with around 400 opened throughout that high flow event.”
The barrages are already attracting numerous visitors as high water gushes through, including thousands of pelicans, cormorants and seals drawn to Goolwa to feed on fish pouring through the gates as water flows increased.
SA Water crews manually opened each 1.5 tonne concrete stop logs with machinery to open barrage gates in recent weeks. Photo: SA Water
Opposition leader David Speirs yesterday called on the State Government to ask for Australian Defence Force help in door knocking homes, shacks and houseboats in the river land regions affected by flood waters.
Speirs met with business owners and other residents in the Riverland and Murrayland over the past two days, highlighting concerns over power cuts, emergency accommodation and communication.
