Rising Murray waters causing problems for landholders

Landholders along the Murray River are sending stock for agistment as upstream floodwater from a full Dartmouth and Hume dam start to flood river flat grazing country.

Landholders along the Murray River are sending stock for agistment as upstream floodwater from a full Dartmouth and Hume dam start to flood river flat grazing country.

Most of the area’s 130 farmers have been moving livestock and infrastructure to limited higher ground in recent weeks as rising dam levels and unseasonal winter rain increased flood risks.

However, flows have increased significantly since Dartmouth Dam, which can hold 3856 gigalitres and is the largest water storage system in the Murray Darling Basin, spilt last week for the first time since 1996.

Murray Darling Basin Authority data shows the water level at Doctors Point, the so-called ‘Albury gauge’, has increased from 4.7m on September 18 to 5.4m on Wednesday. It was 2.9m on August 3 and a 2022 low of 1.4m on May 9.

Cattle farmer Andrew Watson, whose 109ha property is bordered by the Murray River, spent Wednesday trucking half of his 500 head to Holbrook for agistment

Andrew Watson has been removing cattle from his Bungowannah property this week due to riding floodwater. Picture: Supplied

Mr Watson said he would likely send the remainder of his herd away next week and has already sold steers to get them off his property.

“We have had neighbours who lost calves earlier this week that fell into floodwater and drowned,” he said.

“I saw wombats living out of their holes in the Upper Murray in May and that tells me the whole valley is saturated, so any rain is just going to run and it has been running for six months.

“The previous owner of this property used to get a helicopter to work when it was flooded. I haven’t got those finances but I might be in a tinny.”

The MDBA was increasing Hume Dam releases from 32,499ML a day on 18 September to 46,761ML Wednesday, with ongoing rain and elevated inflows from the Ovens and Kiewa rivers also contributing to rising waters.

The Bureau of Meteorology activated a minor flood warning for the Kiewa River at 11.45am Wednesday after rainfalls of 10mm were recorded across the catchment.

Farmers are not the only businesses affected by rising waters, with Philippa Noble, who operates Brimin Lodge, near Corowa, cancelling bookings for the next fortnight after her riverside cabins became inaccessible.

Meanwhile, the River Deck Cafe in South Albury has been closed for several weeks with floodwaters halting access to the venue.

Murray River Action Group chair Richard Sargood said “it is shaping up to be a disaster”.

“If we get significant rain from here on in we are going to get a worse result than we had in 2016 because we have Dartmouth contributing to it which wasn’t the case in 2016, which some people say were catastrophic floods,” he said.

“There are about 20,000ha of flood plains between Hume and Yarrawonga and about half of that is currently underwater and you cannot get to the other half. About a third was underwater before Dartmouth spilled.

“We have been told that it will be wet until at least Christmas.”

Showers are forecast to continue in the area until Thursday afternoon.