Escape routes to provide bridges over troubled waters

Emergency access routes for residents of river communities will be created as the Mid Murray Council looks to minimise the impact on day to day lives as peak flows approach.

Emergency access routes for residents of river communities will be created as the Mid Murray Council looks to minimise the impact on the day to day lives as peak river flows approach.

With the water set to rise 1.7 metres at Younghusband, roads are set to be inundated with flood water and will be inaccessible within weeks.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and SES chief executive Chris Beattie visited the Mid Murray region on Monday to meet with council representatives and discuss plans to keep the communities connected.

Mid Murray elected member Geoff Barber said between 80-100 people will have access roads to their properties cut off with East Front Rd set to go underwater and the council was busy working with private landowners to set up emergency roads.

“We are hoping people won’t have to evacuate their homes, we are hoping we will get access through private properties,” he said.

“We’ve spoken to landowners and they’ve agreed but the issue is liability so we are working through that.”

Premier Peter Malinauskas and Mid Murray CEO Ben Scales at Mannum. Picture: Dylan Hogarth

Cr Barber – who is a River Murray ferry operator at Purnong – said the East Front Rd at Younghusband went under water in 1974 and farm land was used to keep residents connected.

“The last time this happened (in the 1974 floods), there wasn’t all this litigation there is these days – the local farmers said ‘yeah no worries, you can drive across’, but now there is,” he said.

“We are trying to do everything we can to open up these access roads.”

Mr Malinauskas inspected the roads set to go under and said has been busy getting a feel for the plight of the residents set to be most affected and paid tribute to the hard work of the people in river communities.

“I’ve been trying to get out to as many people as possible and I think there is a preparedness and resilience,” he said.

“By and large the response from most people has been to pragmatically go about preparing.

“I think what was lost on some people is the volume of water we are talking about.

“The whole state consumes 200GL of water a year, we have a prospect of that coming down every day. It’s a lot of water and it’s got to go somewhere.”

Premier Peter Malinauskas with Mid Murray councillor Geoff Barber at Younghusband. Picture: Dylan Hogarth

Mr Malinauskas also visited Mannum on Monday, inspecting the temporary levee being built to protect the township.

The Mid Murray Council will begin digging up the bitumen on the main street on Tuesday as the levee takes shape.

Mid Murray chief executive officer Ben Scales said Randell St businesses and houses at the lower end of the road had been evacuated and the road would be closed from tomorrow as the machinery moves in.

He said the levee was expected to be completed in four days.