Farming disaster ‘a matter of dam timing’

Farmers along the Murray River have accused the ­national water management authority of making the floods worse.

Rob Locke in a flooded livestock paddock on his property near Tocumwal. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

Flooded farmers along the Murray River have accused the ­national water management authority of making a natural disaster worse by delaying releases from the giant Hume Dam ­upstream of Albury-Wodonga, despite warnings of a looming ­deluge.

Richard Sargood, chairman of the Murray River Action Group, said the Murray-Darling Basin Authority promised farmers downstream of the Hume Dam at an August 18 meeting that it would soon start gradual water releases from the vast dam once storage levels reached 83 per cent.

The promise of bigger releases came after Bureau of Meteorology predictions of a wet August and September ahead and sudden increases in water levels in Lake Hume of 10 per cent a week.

“But they didn’t,’’ Mr Sargood said. “Everyone knew it was going to be a very wet spring but they didn’t make any pre-releases in August to create the air space (in the dam) in case of big sudden inflows.

“So when we had our (first) big rains (September 14), the ground everywhere was sodden already, the dam was nearly full at 97 per cent and there was nowhere for the water to go except for the gates to be opened in a rush.

“They didn’t make room early enough; it’s no wonder you have talk of class actions and compensation from those who have been hit by these big floods downstream that didn’t have to have been as bad as they were; management could certainly be improved.”

The filled Hume Dam has been spilling water from massive concrete gates for most of the past month. Its biggest releases — 70,000-80,000 megalitres per day for six days from October 3 — caused a “wall of water” to swamp the downriver towns of Corowa and Tocumwal a few days later.

Peak flood flows in the Murray River at Tocumwal, north of Shepparton, reached a huge 204,000 megalitres daily 10 days ago — exacerbated by further big inflows from the flooded Ovens River.

Major flooding is still being ­experienced at Deniliquin and flood peaks are heading downstream towards Swan Hill and ­Moulamein.

Battling through receding floodwaters in his boat to reach cattle and flooded crops yesterday, Tocumwal farmer Rob Locke admits to feeling battered and ­disgruntled after enduring a ­“terrible flood”.

He and his extended family fear they could lose 80 per cent per cent of their 2800 hectares of wheat and canola crops, which are still sitting in water after a week of floodwaters rushing through on all sides of their farm, from the Murray River to their south and Bullatale and Native Dog creeks to their east and north.

“We thought we had it beaten, then a wall of water came down from ‘Toc’ and all the levees and channels blew and burst onto our place; we’ve been cut off for nearly a week,” Mr Locke said as he checked stranded cattle from his mate’s boat, as vast stretches of water crept their way towards ­Deniliquin and the Edwards River to the northwest.

“The management of Hume Weir has to be looked at very carefully after this, Mr Locke said. “Of course this was a natural event but we also know that just a few days before the Hume Weir was 98 per cent full and the authority had the gates shut; they just don’t seem to be able to get their management right and it is us that cops the ­results.”

Sheryl Ayres, owner of Corowa’s caravan park where 100 vans and riverside cabins along the Murray have been underwater for more than 10 days, said it had been the biggest flood for years.

“I’d definitely say it was mismanagement,” Mrs Ayres said. “We were concerned back in July about the amount of water they were holding in Hume Dam with the wet winter forecast yet they let it get to 97 per cent full.

“I am upset, angry and frustrated; this is our business and its devastating for us; (the MDBA) was too late opening the gates and that meant the peak when it came was much more sudden and high than it should have been. Someone has to be held responsible.”

Phillip Glyde, managing director of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, was not available to be interviewed yesterday on the issue. In a statement sent to The Australian, the MDBA said river flooding was a “natural phenomenon that cannot be fully prevented by dams”.

“When conditions are very wet and Hume Dam is high, the dam cannot hold back the incoming water and therefore has little impact on the passage of a flood,” the MDBA statement said.

“The MDBA manages Hume Dam in accordance with the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, which requires (us) to maximise the amount of water in storage.

“Even so, the MDBA recently (made) releases from Hume Dam at 75,000 ML/day for more than three days when inflows to the dam were considerably higher, peaking above 110,000 ML/day (which) kept downstream flood levels lower and prevented Albury from exceeding the major flood level.

“The recent flooding that ­occurred downstream will happen again. Even more severe flooding will occur at some point in the ­future.”