Push to delay Basin plan delivery

CALLS for an extension in timelines to deliver the Murray Basin Plan have been welcomed this week by Murray Group of Councils.

The six-council member group, including Loddon Shire, has backed the move by federal Water Minister Tania Plibersek.

“This means that once the reservoir level reaches a certain height, the tilt gates open due to the weight of the water,” it said.

“Like a fixed crest spillway, flows downstream are governed by the water level in the reservoir.

“River flows in the Loddon system rise and fall very quickly in response to heavy rain.

”Laanecoorie reservoir has a capacity of 8000 ML.

“This means it is relatively small in the scheme of the Loddon catchment.

“For example, during the October 2022 floods, inflows into Laanecoorie reservoir peaked at about 144,000 ML per day, which is 18 times the capacity of Laanecoorie Reservoir.

“Even in events like this, Laanecoorie reservoir does help lessen peak flows downstream.”

Meanwhile, GMW on Monday started releasing 800 ML a day from Lake Eppalock, with Ms Cusack saying the decision was based on projected inflows.

“The bulk of the impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan has been borne by our communities across northern Victoria. We welcome the Ministers call to delay the implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, so our communities can be heard and listened to,” Murray River Group of Councils Chair Cr Rob Amos said.

“The impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan has been significant for many who live in our part of northern Victoria. For many years we have been requesting the Federal Government to listen and understand the negative impacts that water recovery has had on our communities and that further water recovery would have on them.

“Our communities are concerned at the prospect of more buy backs, particularly as they seem to be aimed at recovering significant further volumes from the irrigation districts that support our region.”

Ms Plibersek has written to Murray Darling Basin Authority chair Angus Huston asking whether the plan can be delivered by mid-2024.

In recent months, the Loddon Shire Council has successfully awarded seven packages of ood restoration works in response to the October oods. These packages are in addition to the extensive work undertaken by our works crews.

By the end of December, Loddon Shire Council is aiming to deliver in the order of $6 million of restoration work under this category of funding. This work is separate to the $20 million 2023/24 restoration program which has already been endorsed by Council.

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