Goolwa South Australia

A collection of still images & video from 2000 to March 2009 from Goolwa North to the Goolwa Barrage highlighting the water crisis in South Australia, at the end of the Murray River. Australia's largest river system being sucked dry by greed. Profits put ahead of the environment. Having received very little environmental flow for years the river system is dying from the mouth up...
"The end, of the end of The Murray"
Over-allocation of water from the Murray Darling Basin has caused the demise of the RAMSAR listed Lower Lakes & Coorong in South Australia.
We now face the problem of acid sulphate soils in many wetland areas below Lock 1. Hopefully the regulators proposed for Currency Creek and the Goolwa Channel will be able to save this wetland area. But there are many other wetland sites in South Australia needing attention too. The whole perimeter of Lakes Alexandrina & Albert included.
The lack of environmental flows from the Murray River to South Australia should never have been allowed to get this bad.
There is considerable misinformation about the history of the Lower Lakes & Coorong in the media. Especially as to the environment of The Lakes before the barrages..
The website for Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation has a fact sheet on The Lower Murray Lakes & Coorong see www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au
"Prior to the regulation and diversion of the River, the Lakes were predominantly fresh only becoming brackish at times of extended low flows. Under natural conditions seawater only penetrated to Pont Sturt. Sharks were observed at Murray Bridge but this is common for some species to swim both ways in estuaries."
"Studies suggest that the Mouth did not close for at least 8,000 years. In 1981 the Mouth closed for the first time"
From the figures also supplied in the government pdf file.
Approx Median flows across the barrages to the Coorong from MDBC
2000-2001 4690 GL
2002-2008 1763 GL that is TOTAL for 6 years!!!!!!!
The Coorong is in crisis. Sure its full of water but it NEEDS fresh water too.
NO WEIR AT POMANDA ISLAND - RESTORE THE RIVER FLOW TO THE LOWER LAKES & COORONG IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Murray
• River
• Goolwa
• South
• Australia
• environment
• disaster
• greed
• dying
• tortoises
• drought
• water
• crisis
• shortage
• Coorong
• stop
• the
• weir
• ramsar
• jamba
• camba
• wellington
• lower
• lakes
• Alexandrina
• Albert
• acid
• sulphate
• soils
• economy
• currency
• creek
• pomanda
• island
• ngarrindjeri

[thesummerhouse]

Yes agree with not enough is being done, and that it is hard situation. I would like to see a framework established to ensure that environmental watering needs are met first, then remaining water used for irrigation, rather than the current system. The farming industry needs to adapt to better irrigation practises & suitable crop selection. Higher return crops for less water use. We can always do better and must do.

[spacemanGoldie]

This is heartbreaking, I spent my youth in Goolwa, Mundoo Island, and Victor harbour - I now live in the UK. Is it true that the Victorian Government are restricting waterflow to South Australia from the Murray darling basin?

[thesummerhouse]

No its not just the Victorian government, SA, NSW, QLD & the Federal government too. Irrigation water allocations come before the environment :(

[thagoviner]

people its not the end of the murry its the river fixing itself like it has done for years b4 us aussies decided to lock it all up

[thesummerhouse]

Figures from the Murray Darling Basin Weekly Report 30/9/09. The water level in Lake Alexandrina is steady at -0.75 m AHD (1.5 m below FSL) and the water level

in Lake Albert is steady at about -0.15 m AHD. The water level in the Goolwa Channel (which is now

separated from Lake Alexandrina by a blocking bank at Clayton) has increased to +0.3 m AHD in

response to local inflows and the pumping of 28 Gigalitres from Lake Alexandrina. Salinity (EC) at Goolwa is currently 12 090 microsiemens/cm

[sthnguy1]

the level has lifted in the POOL...

at least half a metre...

[nerddog69]

I wouldn't say they do nothing. They aren't doing enough by any means but they are doing some things. It's a hard situation though. I'm assuming you wouldn't be able to come up with a solution which is both environmentally and socio-economically viable.

[sthnguy1]

My heart aches for our river...

We have elected these people to speak on our behalf and yet when the people ask, they do nothing.. is that how democracy works..??

[davesgirl379]

That is devastating the amount of water missing. What a disaster!!!

[beanough]

Awesome Vid - just pisses me off tho that this can happen - so avoidable - needs some leadership by those in management..& consideration by the corporates upriver..