He has even lived on-site at many of the places he has worked, so his connection to many Victorian lakes goes way beyond a 9 to 5 job.

Mr Mottram just retired after 32 years with Murray-Goulburn Water, which is responsible for all of the water bodies he has worked.

“The line of work that I’ve been involved in has been a real privilege. This is not something I’ve taken lightly,” he said.

Until he retired to a house in Mildura, football and lawn bowls, Mr Mottram was part of a four person team based at Lake Eppalock.

His role included operation of the water body, maintenance, recreation, safety on the water and land management.

He loved the variety of his work, and the environment he did it in.

“And I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some interesting characters along the way,” Mr Mottram said.

Recreational land officer Chris Braden agrees.

He is part of Murray-Goulburn Water’s Lake Eppalock team.

“It’s one of the things about working around (water) storages. You do meet a huge amount of people,” he said.

There are 34 clubs that lease land around the lake, four commercial caravan parks and the Kimbolton Kiosk. There is also a number of public reserves.

So while the man-made lake exists to store water for irrigators, a large chunk of Mr Braden’s job is dedicated to those boating, camping, fishing, picnicking and swimming.

Like Mr Mottram, Mr Braden has a long and close connection with Victorian lakes.

He first began working at Lake Eppalock on December 6, 1999. Before that, he spent 18 years in Lake Eildon’s tourism industry.

“Lake Eildon and Lake Eppalock are probably Goulburn-Murray Water’s two busiest recreational spots,” he said.

“Especially with all the houseboats at Lake Eildon, and the clubs and commercial caravan parks at Lake Eppalock.

“You get a lot of generational flow through the storages. People grow up coming with their mum and dad. They love using the campsites or houseboats.

“As they get older they start using the houseboats too.”

In the summer months workers are kept busy with the crowds flocking to enjoy the water. As the weather cools they are flat out finishing capital works. Once the irrigation season ends they turn their attention to maintenance on some of the structures that allow huge volumes of water to be pumped downstream.

These are parts of an annual cycle at the lake.

Yet, with these constants comes the lake’s changeability.

Eppalock may have a 304,651 megalitre capacity, but it is not a big lake when compared to other northern Victorian water storages. That means there can be dramatic fluctuations in water levels.

In 2007, Mr Braden saw the lake’s water levels dwindle to 2 per cent capacity.

“That was the big drought we had,” he said.

“One thing about Lake Eppalock is that it does fill extremely quickly. We saw that in 2011 when it filled from near-empty to about 120 per cent capacity.”

On Thursday, capacity was at 66 per cent, though water levels were expected to drop in the coming months as irrigators clamoured for water before the end of their season.

“Generally it’s during the off-peak that we get the inflows that recharge the storage,” Mr Braden said.

Some of the biggest changes to Lake Eppalock in Mr Braden’s time have not been in water-levels.

“The facilities for the public have definitely improved,” he said.

“We now have a double boat ramp that operates when the water capacity is down to 16 per cent.”

Other boat ramps and facilities have been upgraded, with more flagged this month for Kimbolton.

Goulburn-Murray Water managing director Pat Lennon said increasing demand at lakes was driving the need for new works throughout northern Victoria.

Melbournians looking for day trips or weekends away were being drawn north.

With those crowds came pressure on the natural environment.

One persistent problem at Lake Eppalock is litter.

“Everybody has responsibilities when they are using the storage. They need to use it safely, and to look after it,” Mr Braden said.

Litter is not unique to Lake Eppalock.

“Reading the papers over the Christmas period, I noticed that across the state, wherever people were visiting areas, there were litter problems,” Mr Braden said.

“We have contractors who clean up in our key recreation areas. And all of our officers, when we are out and about, ensure we pick up anything we see. We try to keep on top of it, the best we can.

“It (the problem) is not as bad as if it was left all the time, but any litter is too much. That’s what my thoughts are.”

Recently, a volunteer Green Army team has been working on a 26-week clean-up project, including weed control, revegitation and fixing up areas that have been damaged by members of the public.

“But, once again, it’s up to the people who use the storages to appreciate them and keep them in a good condition,” Mr Braden said.

In recent weeks the number of visitors to Lake Eppalock has dropped off, and Mr Braden says it was not because the weather was starting to cool.

“I worked over the Easter period and it was quieter than what I was expecting, despite the delightful weather,” he said.

For those who care for Lake Eppalock, one more factor can be added to a yearly cycle of weather, irrigation and maintenance. And it is not one you would expect.

“My thoughts are that the footy season definitely impacts on the number of people visiting storages,” Mr Braden said.