Hurry Save The Murray!

James Carlton of Radio National Breakfast Summer reports:

In years gone past, Lake Albert in South Australia’s lower lakes would have been a playground for anglers and boaties at this time of the year. Instead it’s limping towards a slow death and a dubious status as an environmental disaster. A government-funded fishing cull which collected 95 tonnes of mainly European carp has finished, after declining lake levels made the waters unnavigable. Several hundred tonnes of fish are now slowly dying and all are expected to be dead by late February, creating a rotting stench which will also be a health hazard.

Listen to his guest, introduced as Professor Diane Bell, River, Lakes and Coorong Action Group retired professor of anthropology from George Washington University and a visiting professor in the School of Social Sciences at Flinders University [sic] discuss the matter. [Correct re GWU but Diane is actually "Writer and Editor in Residence" at Flinders and "Visiting Professor" at Adelaide University.]

Celebrate the Summer Solstice

Make Merry this Christmas

Happy Hanukkah

and enjoy a

Festive Kwanzaa

Members of the River, Lakes and Coorong Action Group Inc (RLCAG) gathered with friends, family and colleagues on the banks of the Finniss River to mark the end of an eventful year.

It has been a tough year of campaigning.

We have organised, rallied, raised money, protested, petitioned, written submissions and letters, baked scones, sung satirical songs, monitored water and soil quality, taken photographs, distributed flyers, been to Canberra, attended meetings — and — we are pleased to announce, the weir at Wellington (Pomanda Island) has not been built.

We have been called upon to respond to numerous reports, referrals, inquiries and reviews. We have done so with intelligence and patience and we have met all the inhuman deadlines set by governments. We have had little by way of constructive response. Rather, we have been disrespected and our indepth knowledge of local conditions has been spurned.

We have taken our message to neighbouring communities, Adelaide, Canberra, up river and around the world. The coalitions are growing, nationally and internationally. Visitors to this website come from some 28 countries.

We staffed the Fresh Water Embassy at Clayton Bay for the duration of the construction of the dam/regulators and will have a presence on the steps of Parliament House up till the March 2010 state elections (SA).

Our efforts have been recognised with the Jill Hudson Environmental Award and we are now on the Register of Environmental Organisations: we can receive tax deductable gifts.

Thanks to all who have worked with us and invitation to others to join.

NB. The issues aren’t going away and neither are we.

Explore the website for details of our avtivities.

Visit flickr for more photographs.

Last week we noted the abundance of water in the Finniss River on the Goolwa side of the dam/regulator at Clayton Bay. “See,” said the weir building advocates, “We have saved the Finniss River, Currency Creek and Goolwa Channel from acidification.”

But wait, what is happening on the Lake Alexandrina side of the dam/regulator where the fresh water of the tributaries is prevented from reaching? Two interesting aspects.

1. Despite the low water levels, the rushes are regrowing and they are lush. The rains have fed the regrowth on the exposed shores. This will hold the soils and put carbon back into the soil.

2. Because of the low water levels, Dunn’s Lagoon, an ecological hot spot, is drying out and green algae is visible.

The sheet piling for the pumps that pumped water from the “Goolwa Lake” to Lake Alexandrina have been removed and now siphons are being installed to siphon water from the Goolwa Lake back into Lake Alexandrina. The dam is being reinforced with more loads of sand. This is beginning to feel a little like the Sydney Harbour Bridge where once it is painted, it is time to start painting it again. 

It is an offence to walk on the dam/regulator.