2009 July Archive at Hurry Save The Murray!

Monthly Archive for July, 2009

20 July 2009: Port Augusta

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on July 21, 2009

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On Friday 17 July, the staff of the Fresh Water Embassy were very disappointed, when, after waiting three hours for Minister Weatherill, the meeting was cancelled. They proceeded nonetheless. Read about the meeting with the man who wasn’t there. Watch Virtual Jay on YouTube.

Not to be deterred, Embassy staff decided if the Minister would not come to the Embassy, they would take the Embassy to him. The SA Government Community Cabinet was meeting in Port Augusta July 21-2, so the Ambassador, banner and several fresh water species corflutes set off with two staff members to make the long drive to Port Augusta.

Their forensic skills were tested as they tried to determine where the Community Council was meeting and when. Council Chambers? Sports Centre? Tafe College? The campus seemed like a good place to set up the Embassy. Channel 7, the ABC and local media soon gathered around to hear of the trek of the determined Embassy staff.

After numerous phone calls, Minister Weatherill’s Office found a time to meet: 4.30pm at the Railway Station Building. The exchange was robust. The Minister saw a series of photographs that document the construction of the Clayton Bay weir, the damage that it is causing and the impact of the recent rains. He was presented with a letter asking that construction stop immediately. jw-letter-rlcag-port-augusta-200709-copy

He will get back to the Embassy with the scientific data that supports the continued construction of the weir.

Meanwhile, nature was taking her revenge. There were two significant slumps of the weir wall. The mud continues to flow through to Lake Alexandrina. The retaining floating barrier has not been reinstated.

19 July 2009: WAC Launch

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on July 19, 2009

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Water Action Coalition (WAC) is a broadly-based movement of South Australian Community Groups and Environmental Organisations that has been formed in response to growing public concern.

This morning at the WaterShed Function Centre, Mawson Lakes, some 50 people gathered to launch WAC and affirmed their common cause to persuade governments to respond to community concerns. Go WACers.

Channels 2, 7 and 9 carried the story. Water is on the political agenda.

Diane Bell addresses WAC

18 July 2009: “Regulator” contradictions

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on July 18, 2009

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The weir wall has reached the deepest part of the channel between Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) and Clayton Bay. It is a section that provides a refuge for fish in times of drought. The weir, that is supposed to be an ecological refuge, is destroying a refuge.

The mud wave extends hundreds of metres around the wall. The yellow “skirt” that was put in place, after a number of mishaps, was tethered to the ground but the rush of fresh water from the tributaries has ripped it free. The “Regulator” mud wave in now heading into Lake Alexandrina. The contractors are monitoring the situation.

The shore line is greening up. The new growth could be part of a fresh water recovery but if the gap is closed, this section will be cut off from the fresh water.

17 July 2009: Meeting with the Minister who wasn’t there

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on July 17, 2009

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A sunny morning at the Fresh Water Embassy and we were all there.

South Australian Minister for the Environment, Jay Weatherill, had asked to meet with us. His office had said some time between 11.30 and 2.00pm. We took time off work, cut short other commitments and we waited, and waited, and waited.

We phoned the Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) to find out where he was. They had no idea and did not have a contact number for him. We waited.

At 1.38pm we phoned Peter Croft, Director, Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Projects, DEH, who was on the tour with the Minister and left a message. He didn’t pick up the phone or return the call.

Over 60 people came and went at the Embassy. Some 25 staff members of the Embassy continued to wait.

We waited 3 hours.

Then at 2.35pm came a call from Peter Croft’s office in the DEH to say the Minister had run out of time and would not be visiting.

We went ahead with the meeting anyway. We made our speeches to an empty chair and made our presentation to an invisible Minister.

Here is what we said to the man who wasn’t there.
We are most appreciative that you are visiting the Fresh Water Embassy and that you initiated a meeting with the River, Lakes and Coorong Action Group Inc. (RLCAG) and the Finniss Catchment Group Inc. (FCG).

We are making history today. This is the first time a member of your government has recognised us as a group and sat with us. We hope it will not be the last.

We want to work with you as Minister for the Environment and some of us have had the pleasure of working with you in other capacities.

Amongst us we have thousands of years of tested knowledge and tried experience. We have been good stewards of the land, care deeply for the area and believe these “Regulators” are dangerous, unnecessary and will do damage far beyond the footprint of the construction.

We see the tributaries recovering. The rains are diluting the acid. The salinity is down. The liming has assisted with hot spots. The country is greening up. The Acid Sulfate Soils are being reclaimed. The bioremediation is working. Let that process work. Let us see the results of the tests.

These Regulators are an emergency measure but there is no emergency.

We ask that you

· call a halt to the construction today;

· immediately establish an Independent Review;

· work with us in setting the terms of reference.

Independent scientists are speaking out. Dr. Mike Geddes, Evolutionary Ecology, Adelaide University; Dr Keith Walker; Fresh Water Ecologist. They are highly critical of these structures and their opinions are based on sound science. The science of soil chemistry has dominated the debate. We ask that you listen to ecologists who speak for the whole system.

All things are connected. We know that. The Ngarrindjeri know that. Do not disconnect the River Murray from the mouth. Do not block the fresh water flow from the tributaries to Lake Alexandrina and the River Murray to the sea. We can make history today. Please work with us.

This message is from the staff of the Fresh Water Embassy which includes doctors, scientists, engineers, farmers, cattle growers, fishermen, wine growers, olive growers, artists, authors and many, many more.

For those who were not present or would like to relive the historic meeting, here are some photographs.

All in all it was one of our better non-meetings with the South Australian Government. We were able to speak. There was no spin and no power point presentations.

We saw the Minister’s plane as it took his party back to Adelaide.

At 4.40pm Peter Croft (DEH) rang to say they had just run out of time on their visit.

15 July 2009: Information session

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on July 15, 2009

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Today representatives from the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC) and other State Government Agencies provided information and answered questions at a meeting chaired by Dean Brown at the Clayton Bay Community Hall and attended by some 35 members of local communities.

According to the announcement, the session was to “provide the community with information about the construction of environmental flow regulators in Goolwa Channel, near Clayton, and in Finniss River and Currency Creek. The structures will be in place by late July to capture winter inflows along the two tributaries.”

The rain was pelting down and that raised many questions as to why the “Regulators” were needed. Why? Why? Why? The answers were not satisfying the questioners: some persisted, some left, one threw mud over the speakers. The meeting was terminated. It is still raining and the Finniss crossing is still closed.

14 July 2009: The rain continues

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on July 15, 2009

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The Finniss River is running a banka. Best we’ve seen in years say the locals. The media has been documenting the July rains. It will be interesting to see if the SA Government makes further allocations to the environment to secure a fresh water recovery while increasing irrigators’ access to carry-over water.

It is not possible to post photographs of the progress of the “Regulator” dams on the Finniss and Currency because access is restricted. The signs direct the public to Clayton Bay, but unless one can see around corners, this is not a real option.

On the restricted work site at the Currency Creek dam, the lignum have been fenced off. It is good to know the environment is being “protected”.

13 July 2009

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on July 13, 2009

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The volume of visitors continues at the Embassy and because it is school holidays, we have had a number of earnest students. Today one group decided to spell out their thoughts on the foreshore.

12-13 July: The Finniss flows

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on July 13, 2009

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Remember the threat of rewetting of the acid sulfate soils? Ecological collapse was predicted. Well it has rained and it has rained. The Finniss River is flowing. It was over the low water crossing on 12 July. By 13 July, the road had to be closed. Kate Elm’s photographs in the Independent tell the story.

Was this a sheet of acidified water across the road? No, it was a healthy river. The (in)famous Wally’s Landing was running a banker and the pH? It was alkaline. The battery acid had been diluted.

We can only conclude that the soil science was scary but spun. Had we heard more from fresh water ecologists, the rush to dam the waters could have been slowed and a more measured analysis might have prevailed. Why did the SA Government not seek this balance in their reporting and modelling?

Aquatic ecologist, Dr Mike Geddes, Adelaide University states,”The acid sulfate soil issue has been overstated and dominated the debate. It is based on sound analysis of the soil chemistry but little understanding of the implications for water quality and the ecology of the system.”

11 July: Wake for the Murray

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on July 11, 2009

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Overcast, windy, whining trucks, and then the call of the bagpipes: the wake for the Murray was about to begin. Some 350 mourners gathered at Clayton Bay to pay their respects to the river which is being dammed at Clayton Bay, the Finniss River and Currency Creek

With slow and deliberate steps the mourners processsed to the top of the cliff overlooking the construction site. Anne Harnett read her poem “You are trashing our river …”

The flags were lowered and the procession continued to the water’s edge where water from the tributaries was ladled into the river from a large bucket and a boat shaped wreath made of fresh water grasses was cast into the water and travelled off to Lake Alexandrina.

Henry and Gloria Jones cooked fresh fish. Channels 2 and 7 talked to members of the crowd.

10 July 2009: Safety? Information?

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on July 10, 2009

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The work on the weir (”Regulator”) from Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) to Clayton Bay continues into the dusk. Apart from the lights of the trucks, there are no safety lights on the structure. Can this be considered safe? Where is the compliance officer?