The (less than mighty) Murray River

[ewm3]

Hi again. I was in Goolwa, South Australia (where the River Murray meets the sea) this weekend. Here are some pics of what is happening to our river. I think better photographers could come up with better pics and start showing the rest of Australia what's happening to our river. Anyone want to contribute pictures to this theme?

This old steam boat tied up long ago; the vegetation in front of the boat wasn't there then.

The construction at the top of the picture are the Goolwa Barrages that help stop the water flowing out to the sea

On another note, I'm staring to get the hang of the Nikon 80-400 zoom. Took this at Middleton Beach.

C&C welcome - be nice!

[Man Tripod]

Looked much better near Renmark last Xmas.



The lower lakes is a bit of a debarkle that can be easily fixed by opening the barages to flood the lakes with sea water (which is what would have occured naturally during a drought this long). Problem is that towns on the lakes use them for water supply.

[Marvin]

Wow, it's looking pretty bad up that way. It's not too bad here at the moment, although all of the growers are worried about their allocations being only at 15%. Lots of people struggling. Lake Bonney has really dropped. I must get there and take some pics.

[Oneputt]

I have a picture take about twenty something years ago of my mate stood actually in the river mouth at low tide. The water just reached his ankles, the greed of irrigators knows no bounds.

[bigsarg7]

Can i just say coming from an area that relies heavilly upon irrigation, I find the last comment a tad harsh. If it weren't for the farmers our meat, and fruit prices and wheat etc would have sky rocketed by now. They are wearing most of the costs of this drought, not just financially but physically and emotionally. I think the only point to be made about greed, is that silly pipeline they (victorian government) have approved to take water from the Goulburn River (Similar to the Murray and very very dry) to keep their supply in Melb, thats the only greed to me. Seeing as i am from Country region that relies on irrigation Water means a lot to me. I love the pic's it shows what the issue is, thank you for taking photo's like that because one day ppl will wonder just how bad it got or what it used to look like before it entirely dried up (how sad..... )
I don't want to upset anyone in anyway, as it is just my feelings on the issue of the drought, so please don't take offense. Keep on taking Pics they're great to see!! (my fav was the image with the river boat....should check out Echuca some time)

[ewm3]

Can I say it's not about anyone being right or wrong. It's about how all of us impact on the world we live in. Looking forward to more pictures!

[Raskill]

Hopefully once the Federal Government takes control of the water ways, things might improve a bit. Buying out the irrigators licences will slowly improve things, but perhaps it will be to late by then to save these lakes. I think it is simplistic, and showing a lack of understanding, to blame irrigators as greedy. By and large all are pulling out what they are entitled to under long standing agreements.

The reduction in water reaching the lower Murray is because of many reasons. If you want to talk about greed, look at the governments making farmers pay for their FULL irrigation licences, when they can pull out 10% or less of that water allocation, look at the dams on the Paroo River, stopping the water flowing into NSW. The Qld government says those dams are ok, because they were approved before any current agreements came into place to save the system. 10km of dam and channels. Hoarding water and letting it evaporate, now thats greed.

I to find this an emotional issue, as I know how tough farmers do it, both in my area and further west. I recently drove from Bourke to Broken Hill, following the Darling River, and it is dry and desolate out there, The farmers I spoke to said it was the worst times they had seen, but still had a sense of humour about it. Great people, not greedy.

[Man Tripod]

The problem with the lower lakes is that a few people rely on them for supply of fresh water. If this was not the case the problem could be solved by opening the barrages and flooding with sea water. This is what would have happened naturally long ago in time of low flows.

The rest of the Murray doesn't look like this. There's plenty of water in the actual river itself due to the locks and weirs. It does need a good flush though and the floodplains need a good soaking.

[norbs]

I to find this an emotional issue, as I know how tough farmers do it, both in my area and further west. I recently drove from Bourke to Broken Hill, following the Darling River, and it is dry and desolate out there, The farmers I spoke to said it was the worst times they had seen, but still had a sense of humour about it. Great people, not greedy.

I did the same in August/Sept. Did you stay at Louth or Tilpa? Get to see Toorale station before it was bought?

[bwhatnall]

Here's a pano that I got of the bridge going over the "River" a month ago, look at were the water level is, that was taken at high tide, the water level is usually above the poles mid-way on the slats

[Raskill]

I to find this an emotional issue, as I know how tough farmers do it, both in my area and further west. I recently drove from Bourke to Broken Hill, following the Darling River, and it is dry and desolate out there, The farmers I spoke to said it was the worst times they had seen, but still had a sense of humour about it. Great people, not greedy.

I did the same in August/Sept. Did you stay at Louth or Tilpa? Get to see Toorale station before it was bought?

Stayed in neither, but stopped in both. Can't go through Louth without stopping for a stubby cooler, and Tilpa for a hamburger and chips at the Tilpa Pub. Recommend them to anyone passing by.

We drove from Bourke to Broken Hill, and stayed at the hill for 2 nights. Of course, that also meant a few beers in Silverton.