Campaign to get water sports back on Lake Cooper

The water skiing association spent millions on building a clubhouse at the lake so it could become a water sport hub before it was drained during the droughts in the early 2000s — it hasn’t been filled since. Find out why.

A Shepparton man is lobbying for a once popular lake in northern Victoria to be refilled for water sports.

Rodney Senior has recently started a campaign to have the water put back into Lake Cooper, located between Bendigo and Shepparton.

While he is considering forming a Water Sports Action Group and lobbying various levels of government, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has held firm that the water is needed elsewhere in the region.

“The delivery of water for recreational purposes to Lake Cooper could only be done using allocation from an existing entitlement which would take water away from existing uses, such as irrigation or the environment,” a spokesperson said, adding there were other lakes suitable for recreational activities nearby.

“There are many water bodies across the region suitable for water skiers, including Waranga Basin and Lake Eppalock, which are about 35 and 45 minutes’ drive from Lake Cooper respectively.”

What was once a vibrant community around the lake has now dried up

However Mr Senior feels that Waranga Basin and Lake Eppalock are often unsafe to use for water sports.

“Once the wind gets up around 15 knots these sites just become too rough for things like power boating and water skiing,” he said.

Mr Senior has been recording the inflow of water for the Goulburn Catchment Area since May.

“Lake Cooper only needs 32,000 ML to fill and last week the Goulburn Catchment capacity has increased 159,117 ML, that could have filled Lake Cooper almost five times,” Mr Senior, who first learnt to water ski when he was eight years old, said.

The Lake Cooper outfill drain has meant the lake has been dry since the early 2000s

Back then his family had lots of lakes to choose from including Shepparton Lake, Lake Nagambie, and Lake Cooper but 50 years later and there only two lakes in the area that can be used for water sports — Lake Mulwala and Waranga Basin.

After nearly 40 years of involvement with the water skiing community, Mr Senior has become a board member of Waterskiing Victoria, and he’s making it his mission to see Lake Cooper filled again.

He is particularly motivated by the fact the Victorian Water Ski Association spent millions on building a clubhouse at Lake Cooper in the late 80s and early 90s so it could become the hub of water sport events in Australia.

The lake hosted the Australian water skiing titles in 1991.

No water at Lake Cooper

However, in 2003 the lake was drained to alleviate pressure from the droughts, and has been mostly empty since, despite being a natural lake.

Now that Goulburn Murray water has decommissioned Greens Lake as a water storage infrastructure, it also can no longer be used for water sports.

Mr Senior hopes Lake Cooper can be refilled to help usher in a new generation of water skiers and power boat drivers.

If he is successful Rodney would like to establish a committee to manage the lake.