In the mid 1970s it rained… and rained. 

In the Wimmera, for lengthy periods of time, rivers, creeks and channels ran consistently, lakes, reservoirs and dams were full to overflowing and cropping across large areas of land became impossible.

There was so much water there was a community project called ‘Operation Long Hop’ to rescue kangaroos stranded by floodwater on Lake Albacutya. 

A group of teachers also canoed the Wimmera River all the way from south of Horsham to well beyond the terminal lakes.

The circumstances, which had existed periodically in previous years and in some cases helped establish settlements, left a legacy spanning decades. 

When it came to water for sport, recreation and lifestyle, a generation growing up in the Wimmera-Mallee experienced times of plenty.

How these times have changed. We now rely on a massive pipeline to guarantee water supply across a vast region and must carefully manage how we divvy up this ever-diminishing resource.

Experiences from an overflow of water assets from yesteryear still burn brightly in the memories of many who yearn for a return for ‘the good old days’.

They know just how big a deal lakes and rivers are to communities when full of water and a perennial appeal for more recreational or environmental water allocations is far from surprising.

Advocates pushing for more recreation water in Horsham district lakes are probably right in pointing out a need for greater water-sharing scrutinisation. 

It is an area, particularly in our part of the world, that demands constant analysis.

There is much and many risks to consider. If, for example, more water suddenly becomes available for lakes such as Green, Toolondo or even Natimuk, how do we preserve the asset for community use?

While we’ve come to accept evaporation is the great enemy of many of our popular recreation lakes, a harder pill to swallow is to finally get water for a lake and then see its use limited due to blue-green algae blooms.

Blue-green algae, a natural part of our environment but heavily influenced by landscape management, represents one of the biggest challenges in a recreation-
water puzzle during dry periods. 

What’s the point of fighting hard for water for a lake, only to be unable to use the lake because of a toxic bloom?

As we work our way forward in dealing with a changing climate and a finite water resource, finding a way to effectively work with nature to manage blue-green algae and other threats will become a greater and more important area of research.

A series of wet years would probably resolve many issues for the short term and breathe new life into a parched landscape. 

But when and will these wet years return?

Socio-economic studies have shown that water for recreation and the environment is worth millions of dollars to Wimmera and southern Mallee communities.

Whether it be reshuffling the deck in water-sharing arrangements, exploring ways to mitigate blue-green algae outbreaks or something else – we must try to get the equation right.

RELATED: Wimmera lakes water momentum gathers

 

The entire May 5, 2021 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!