Flow management could have lessened floods

Updated November 7 2012 - 3:59am, first published January 28 2011 - 9:10am

In relation to the recent devastating floods in Rochester, I question why Goulburn-Murray Water and/or any other authority charged with the operation of Lake Eppalock had not previously and still does not increase the regular flow released down the Campaspe River to reflect the fact that the Campaspe Irrigation Scheme no longer exists.The flow should have been increased from the beginning of the irrigation season last August, particularly in light of good spring rainfall and a well-publicised La Nina weather pattern. No way should Eppalock have been allowed to remain at 100 per cent capacity – especially with the low pressure system drifting down the east coast of Australia, causing havoc in its wake.I am assuming that the controllers of Eppalock liaise with the weather bureau in order to calculate predicted inflows and appropriate outflows.I have no doubt that the authorities will proclaim that Eppalock is a storage dam, not a flood mitigation dam but, with the closure last year of the major irrigation scheme that drew on Eppalock – the Campaspe system – the dam should have been reassigned for storage and flood mitigation. While the huge flow of water from Axe, Mt Pleasant and McIvor creeks was always going to instigate a flood situation downstream of Eppalock, the situation was worsened by Eppalock being allowed to stay at capacity, thereby eliminating any hope of control of a significant rainfall event such as the one we experienced.The devastating situation that ensued in Rochester could have been lessened had the authorities ensured that Eppalock was not storing any more than 80 per cent capacity. It is distressing that today Eppalock is still at 102 per cent – another rainfall event will almost ensure that we flood again.I ask the authorities to address this situation immediately.I am also staggered that those in charge had no idea of the size of the flood as it made its way towards Rochester, nor of the time the peak would hit.Or maybe they knew, but just didn’t tell us poor suckers on the receiving end.Janet Webb,Rochester

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