Hurry Save The Murray!

Too many stories. Too much spin. Could it be that complicated?

Independent MLC David Winderlich and Professor Diane Bell set out on Saturday on a road trip to Menindee Lakes to find answers.

“We wanted to see for ourselves just what was happening with the flood waters coming down the Darling River, talk to local people and try to understand what could be done,” said Diane. “A kind of people to people mission in the interests of the health of the River.”

Just click on an individual photo for the caption and enlargement,

First stop Terowie where David’s wife Deborah has been working with locals on a Museum of “ found art” and Diane’s daughter, Genevieve and partner, Josh, are renovating an old stone cottage. “We will return, “ they said and headed to Yunta for an alfresco lunch of Diane’s homemade bread, garden veggies, Fleurieu ham and lots of hot tea.

Willy willies churned the red sand, salt bush, flood plains, wind turbines clustered on ancient hills. David pointed out local features.

“How can one live sustainably in this country?” David asked. Get rid of the methane producing critters. Kangaroos are low emitters, but hard to farm. Emus are on a par with goats. Camels and cattle are really bad. Travelling with an internet connection means such questions can be answered easily.

“I saw water in that creek bed,” Diane shouts and throws David’s car into reverse. Water indeed. Cameras begin to click. Diane runs down into the water. It is sweet, local rain. Lots of local rain events through this country it seems. The willy willies are intensifying.

“Diane finds water for the Lower Lakes,” David says. “All we need is a pipeline.”
“Would Dean Brown negotiate it for us?” Diane asks.

The next three creeks all have water and the Wawirra is full back up to the railway bridge. David goes in and gets stuck. Gambols down and up a fallen tree to clean off the mud and the team is off again.

Broken Hill late afternoon and a welcome cup of tea with Barney Stevens of DRAG (Darling River Action Group), a briefing on the magic 640 GL and we are off to Menindie Lakes.

The willy willies are intensifying and beginning to join up. Could be a dust storm? The country is bare in patches: drought? Over-grazing? Mismanagement? We see goats and later hear reports of camels.

First stop the main channel between Lakes Menindie and Pamamaroo. It is dry but spongey to the step. David and Barney walk across the dry bed while Diane ventures onto the railway line.When do the trains run? she asks. “You have 30 seconds to get off when they do,” says Barney.

We walk the edge of Lake Menindee, 272 square kilometres of dry lakebed. Barney stands into the bank to show the level to which the lake would be surcharged in times of flood. We can see the lines of growth of the levels to which this lakes has filled.

We track up the chain of lakes from Menindie to Pamamaroo and stand at the point where the water is gushing through the regulator from Lake Wetherell to Lake Pamamaroo. “That’s the money shot,” says David as we photograph the water that is backing up in Lake Wetherell and being discharged into the Pamamaroo and spreading out across that lake bed. There is a patch of residual water on the north side of the lake but the new fresh water is finding its way into the little gullies of the lake bed. The pelicans are arriving but there is not as prolific bird like as one might expect. Are they all at Lake Eyre? Too late in the season? Haven’t smelled the water yet?