Throngs of holidaymakers have been taking advantage of an almost full Lake Eildon, bringing in tourism dollars to the local economy over the summer, but downstream residents are anxious and frustrated with the management of water releases and flooding events such as the one earlier this month.
Residents in neighbouring shires and further afield have taken to social media to voice their concerns on the Goulburn River Flood Impact Group, a public Facebook site set up last year.
The group now boasts more than 2,200 members, several of whom have been impacted by flooding more than once in recent months.
The public support group was created for affected people to share images, stories, and consequences of the Eildon Dam/Goulburn River water management program and to closely monitor current supply levels for Lake Eildon.
One member, Michelle Bissels, contacted the Mansfield Courier to air her concerns about the impact repeated flooding has had on her property near Yea.
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Ms Bissels lives in the Murrindindi Shire and was impacted again after the October 2022 floods.
Water from the Yea River came onto her property on the corner of Murrindindi Road and the Melba Highway.
She said this latest flooding was worse than the previous one, with “water above the star pickets and posts.”
The inundation forced the movement of 200 alpacas to higher ground and the headache of having no access to paddocks to feed them and “running out of feed”.
Flood waters isolated the property, and Ms Bissels struggled to obtain any assistance, including sandbags.
Her insurance did not cover damaged fences.
“Eildon should be at least 92 percent or even 90 percent so we don’t get flooded because the water cannot go anywhere,” she said.
In Seymour, market garden farmer Chloe Fox was forced to deal with the latest flooding, having barely recovered from a huge flood in 2022.
When the Mansfield Courier caught up with Ms Fox, she was in the middle of her zucchini patch, pulling out crops that had been inundated during this month’s heavier than expected rainfall.
“We had to kill 90 per cent of our crops,” said the devastated owner of Somerset Heritage Produce.
While Ms Fox conceded that the flooding did not look as bad as the previous flood, with water receding more quickly this time, the loss of produce was still a substantial economic hit for her business.
“I am not confident it won’t happen again, as severe weather events occur as climate change marches on,” she said.
“I definitely have concerns about the way Eildon is managed; it is more about water for larger irrigators, not us smaller landholders.
“We need some transparency around the way water is managed, sitting at 99 per cent capacity and more rain on the way.”
The latest flash flooding in the region with well over 140mm of rain in and around Yea, from January 8 to 9, prompted a visit from state politicians the following week.
The Shadow Emergency Services Minister, Richard Riordan said, “It was important this past week… to visit some of our flood affected communities”.
“Touring with John Pesutto (Opposition Leader), Cindy McLeish MP and Annabelle Cleeland MP it was clear so much flood mitigation work just simply has been ignored and investments in state of the art monitoring and early warning systems have not been made,” Mr Riordan said.
State MP for Eildon, Cindy McLeish, acknowledges Lake Eildon as a vital asset in our region.
“It plays a key role in tourism, water supply, agriculture and flood mitigation and finding the right balance between all of these demands can be tricky,” Ms McLeish said.
“While it had no impact on the recent floods, thanks to a reduction in releases, the government inquiry into the October 2022 floods heard from many people adversely impacted by past releases and water level management.”
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) inquiry results are not expected until after March this year.
Ms McLeish was hopeful of a recommendation calling for GMW to fully review the management of lake water levels and releases in consultation with impacted stakeholders in order to develop a balanced management plan.
“The impacts on downstream farmers’ properties and, subsequently, their livelihoods should not be underestimated here,” she said.
State MP for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said the “lack of investment in our region’s flood mitigation measures nearly 16 months after the October 2022 floods is irresponsible and shows a complete disregard for our local community.”
She asked, “What hopes are there for a town with no flood mitigation measures in place, no plans for these measures to ever be implemented, and the cloud of ongoing insurance challenges for local residents and businesses?”
“The lack of action to adopt flood mitigation measures such as a flood levee, pumps, river gauges, and an effective drainage system has led many of these businesses to question their motivation to invest and expand in our local communities.
“Understandably, our farmers are frustrated with the lack of action and protection being provided to them.
“They have rebuilt fences only to be flattened again less than 16 months later with grants completely inadequately covering the impact.
“Our towns cannot be left to tread water as the persistent threat of floods remains.
Meanwhile, GMW water storage services general manager Martina Cusack said GMW “recognise the significant impact the recent rainfall has on the people of Seymour, Yea, and various other communities in the Goulburn region and understand their concerns”.
“GMW’s obligations as a storage manager are set out under the Victorian Water Act,” she said.
Under the framework provided by the Victorian Water Act, the primary role of Goulburn-Murray Water storages is to harvest and store customers’ water entitlements while providing flood mitigation if possible.
Ms Cusack said the framework provided by the Act requires target filling points to be set for the storage between May and October/November.
“While these targets are not yet in place, GMW has begun making releases from Lake Eildon to increase airspace and ensure the initial filling target on May 1 can be met without the necessity for significant releases in the days preceding the filling target,” she said.
“Managing Lake Eildon requires consideration to be given to conditions across the broader catchment and what requirements the different communities within the catchment may have in both the short and long term.
“Lake Eildon cannot prevent these communities from experiencing either flooding or drought but can mitigate the impacts of both.
“DEECA are conducting an assessment of the operating arrangements for Lake Eildon to determine if changing the operating rules could have any material opportunities to mitigate flooding downstream (Eildon to Seymour) and any associated environmental, cultural, and financial implications of such changes.
“GMW is fully supportive of this assessment and is providing information to aid it where possible.”
