The Wimmera’s flowing tale
With many parts of inland Australia experiencing prolonged drought conditions complete with dust storms, dry riverbeds and lakes, fish deaths, struggling farm and town businesses and stressed communities – it is a timely reminder that just 10 years ago this was the Wimmera’s story.
In the late 1990s the Wimmera skies stopped delivering enough of what we all need to thrive and survive – water. By 2009 many parts of the river were completely dry, and from Elmhurst at the top to the Wimmera River system’s end point almost 300 kilometres away, all that remained were a handful of deep pools. It seemed impossible that water had once flowed into Outlet Creek from Lake Hindmarsh, let alone continue beyond into Lake Albacutya.
We had limited environmental flows, and we used them sparingly to maintain some highly valuable areas to keep fish and platypus alive as best we could. Some years there wasn’t enough water to do anything.
Thankfully, in 2009 it started to rain.
Read the full Water for the Environment Spring Update by clicking on the icon below.
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