Joe Scicluna and Judi Karaka have seen the water at Lake Eppalock recede since Boxing Day.
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“On Boxing Day morning, all the tyres were under water,” Ms Karaka says, pointing at the tyres stacked along the lake’s edge.
The region has had its share of hot weather in the past few weeks. But the drop in the water at the lake is about more than evaporation at that site.
Water is being released from the lake to meet demand in the Campaspe system.
A Goulburn Murray Water spokesperson said releases increased on December 28 from 100 megalitres a day to 130ML/d, and again to 160ML/d on January 2.
“There was nothing unusual about the releases in the last few weeks,” they said.
“These are well within normal changes needed to meet demand in the Campaspe system.”
The spokesperson said demand could increase with warmer temperatures.
Mr Scicluna had the jet ski out at the weekend, but said the dropping water levels meant he and the other holiday makers were being more cautious about the potential dangers below the surface of the lake.
That included ensuring children were safe, with insufficient water in the lake to fill the lagoons where they would typically play.
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Lake Eppalock might be one of the region’s recreational drawcards, but it was never built for that purpose.
Its primary function, upon construction in 1964, was to supply water for irrigation. Today, it does that and much more.
Water storage levels at the lake were at 48.04 per cent of capacity at the time of writing.
Lake Eppalock Holiday Park owner and manager Peter Rose said getting bookings was a struggle about three years ago, when the lake was in a comparable position.
But not this year, with bookings strong around Christmas and New Year. Mr Rose said the park was already booked out for Australia Day.
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He said investment in creating attractions within the park that people can enjoy even if conditions on the lake are less than optimal had helped garner and retain guests.
Further improvements to the holiday park are planned.
“It’s a privilege that we get to use the lake,” Mr Rose said.
“We’ve tried to work on a positive attitude regardless of the lake level.
“Even at 50 per cent, there’s a lot of water out there for people to be able to use.”
He said water levels at Lake Eppalock this time next year could be ‘interesting’ if the weather was as dry over the course of the 12 months as forecasters were expecting.
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