Lower Lakes Crisis

The Lower Lakes of the River Murray (Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert) are in crisis. Due to years of over extraction, drought, and climate change, there is simply not enough water in the Murray-Darling Basin to supply water to the Lakes. The Barrages, constructed in 1940, have disconnected the Lakes from the ocean, resulting in an annual requirement of 750 to 950 GL of freshwater to replace evaporative losses, water which could instead be refilled by seawater. By February 2010, falling water levels will expose acid sulphate soils in Lake Alexandrina, turning thousands of square acres toxic. The corrosive dust storms are already happening.

The Lakes need water now, and seawater is clearly better than no water.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• lower lakes
• river murray
• lakes need water
• goolwa
• lake alexandrina
• lake albert
• coorong
• barrages
• drought

[ErikZack1]

Great video! Let's open the barrages and give the Lakes a chance to become an estuary again. Less carp, more mulloway I say.

[RetroNoodles]

#1 its drying and dying while everyone sits around and wait for water....or the government to care....or whatever... and #2where's that glorious magical supply of fresh water to come to our rescure? ....wait...whats this?---- there is a massive supply of water that can rebuild the lakes ecosystem? florishing native fish species? water for boaties? and it was there orignally? let it in!!!-----WHAT...SEAWATER???? GET LOST!

[noseawater]

How short sighted. Why look at the problem with blinkers on? The barrages are not the cause of this problem. The river as a whole no longer has a natural flow. The reason no fresh water is coming downt the river is because the water has been harnessed and extracted beyond its capicity to supply, right along the system and now does not flow to the Murray Mouth. The lakes and the Coorong are the sacrificial lambs in this whole debacle. This a freshwater ecosystem......destroyed......­SHAME

[iwannaspeak]

This is our national shame.

Anywhere else in the world it would be declared a natural disaster.

We need to keep up the pressure on our governments. Otherwise they have won.

[elainecoz]

No other country in the world has a dam (aka "Barrages") at the mouth of a river holding back 1m of seawater. The Barrages finished in 1940 have created a man-made freshwater environment that is now doomed by drought and over extraction. There's been nothing but carp in the artificial freshwater environment of the Lower Lakes for years, and cutting the Lower Lakes off from the Coorong with the Barrages has doomed the Coorong as well. There is no "must stay fresh" about it!

[mikeservethepeople]

The Lower Lakes must remain a freshwater ecosystem. I get the impression that you are prepared to destroy these wetlands with salt water just so you can tow your ego around behind a fast speedboat. Hope I'm wrong...