After a decade of below-average rainfall, we have now had eight consecutive months of above- average rains, and it looks like this summer could help erase the memories of the dry and debilitating decade we have just struggled through.

Our rivers have all been given a magnificent flush, albeit a flooding one in many instances, but we should remember streams such as the Avoca and Loddon which were among the worst in the Murray Darling basin for salinity, have just been exonerated.

Closer to Bendigo, Lake Eppalock has surged towards 60 per cent of its capacity, an achievement worth celebrating even more when you consider this time last year the storage was at a miserable 5.85 per cent.

These have been welcome rains to finally break the back of the decade of drought. The optimism and smiles on the faces of people visiting Lake Eppalock yesterday should translate across our region’s economy and contribute to even better times.

Both Coliban Water and Goulburn Murray Water will be counting their blessings and while water restrictions will most certainly be eased, the lessons of the past decade should not be forgotten.

Meanwhile, the rest of us look forward to a magnificent summer where lakes and dams that have been barren for too long, will spring to life once more.