THE coast guard is urging anyone who wants to take advantage of warm weekend weather at Lake Eppalock to stay safe and observe COVID-19 restrictions.
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Temperatures are expected to reach 29 on Saturday and 25 on Sunday and the guard's western Victorian squadron's Colin Ritchens said it could be among the first when people consider a day at the lake.
"If people are thinking of going down to the lake, be careful," he said.
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Deputy Commodore Ritchens said it was possible this summer will be very busy at the lake as Melbournians come out of lockdown and an expected wet spring drives up water levels, which currently sit at just over 40 per cent capacity.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday declared a La Nina weather pattern had developed in the Pacific Ocean.
The weather pattern typically comes with above-average spring rainfall in Australia and can bring cooler days and more tropical cyclones up north.
The weekend might also be a time for people with properties to review their own plans in case heavy spring rains arrive.
Goulburn Murray Water is advising anyone with a "potentially hazardous" dam - for example, with a wall above the ground that could burst - to prepare.
"We recently wrote to our customers who may have a potentially hazardous dam, asking that they take some general precautions including inspecting and monitoring dams, clearing spillways and outlet pipes to help pass flood water, and repairing any cracks and other defects," GMW's Warren Blyth said.
Hazardous dams can include:
- The dam has a wall that is 5 metres or more high above ground level at the downstream end of the dam and a capacity of 50 megalitres or more; or
- The dam has a wall that is 10 metres or more high above ground level at the downstream end of the dam and a capacity of 20 megalitres or more; or
- The dam has a wall that is 15 metres or more high above ground level at the downstream end of the dam, regardless of the capacity; or
- The dam belongs to a prescribed class of dams.
The last La Nina event occurred from 2010-2012 and resulted in one of Australia's wettest two-year periods on record.
Widespread flooding occurred in many parts of Australia associated with the record rainfalls, including across central Victoria.
The bureau believes the coming weather patterns will not be as intense as those witnessed in 2010-11, but is still likely to be of moderate strength.
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
