River Murray floodwaters swamp Morgan at 6.4m, but townsfolk say it’s business as usual
DESPITE being flooded by the rising River Murray, the resilient residents of the town of Morgan say it’s business as usual. SEE THE PICTURES
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THE River Murray floodwaters are expected to peak in Murray Bridge on Christmas Day, after water levels reached a maximum of 6.38m at Morgan earlier this week, partially submerging shacks already inundated by blackwater.
Floodwaters peaked in Morgan at 6.4m on Wednesday, partially submerging shacks south of the town already inundated by blackwater.
But the town’s residents stress “it’s business as usual” and, instead of tourists being deterred by uninviting waters and flood fears, they should embrace the River in such a rare state.
Flows into the Murray at the border peaked at 95GL a day on November 30 — the highest its been in 20 years — bringing with it an abundance of wildlife.
Morgan resident and Outdoor Ed instructor Stephen Hawsler said kayaks were a good choice to explore backwaters and wetlands, rarely submerged by water.
His colleague Allie Brinkworth added: “It’s great to see the wetlands look so alive and there’s plenty of pelicans, swans and frogs, which are so loud at night”.
But despite the river in a rare flourishing state, many tourists have stayed away from Morgan during what is normally its busiest time and businesses have felt the affects.
Foxtale houseboat manager Jodie Butson said the past week had been their quietest time in a year and half and she, and others, wanted to dispel rumours the town was “underwater”.
“What we want is to tell people, yes, the water is high — but life is going on as normal,” Ms Butson said.
“Yes, you need to exercise caution, but on the weekend there were still boats out and people skiing. You can still do these things even though the water is high.”
Morgan Riverview Cafe owner Heather Pinnington said flood reports and restricted access to shacks had resulted in a financial blow just before Christmas.
“There’s more than 1000 shacks between here and Blanchetown and with four people per shack at Christmas that’s a lot of customers to lose,” Ms Pinnington said.
“People have an idea that Morgan is underwater and they can’t get in, but it’s the perfect time to come up because there’s things we haven’t seen for years in terms of water and birdlife.”
The Environment Department said the river’s high flows peaked at 6.4m in Morgan yesterday and would now start to gradually subside.
The floodwaters was expected to peak at Murray Bridge, on December 28, and eventually flow out the Murray Mouth.
Flows into the SA border have already started to subside to 75GL a day, which was expected to drop to about 50GL a day this week.
“As the water levels drop people should be careful around riverbanks as this could affect bank stability,” the Environment Department’s water resource operations manager, Jarrod Eaton, said.
