Good news this time, M’Dears and Heaven knows we certainly need some good news.
Mr Garrett was due to announce his decision on the EIS about the Pomanda Weir on October the 12th. I think this translates as Mr Garrett saying either “No you can’t” – three cheers – or “Yes, you can” – in which case we Sisters and Brothers with Attitude have to Gird Our Loins for War!
By the way, have you noticed M’Dears – they now keep referring to the proposed weir to block off the River Murray from the Lakes as the “Pomanda Weir”. It used to be called the Wellington Weir. Now they seem to have named it after me! Not that they ever asked my permission. If they had they would have got short shrift: Not over my Dead Body, a Snowball in Hell has a better chance! And they haven’t even spelt it properly!
Anyway, when October the 12th arrived, I was mid Swine Flu and nothing was further from my mind. I couldn’t have cared if the world ended. But as it turned out Mr Garrett has delayed his decision. He wants “More Information” Well!!!
Then, on November the 9th, Premier Rann announced that due to increased rains in the Murray Darling Catchment, a decision on whether to build the Pomanda Weir has been postponed until early in 2011. It also appears that certain segments within the South Australian Government may no longer be in favour of the “seawater option” for Lake Alexandrina.
Rory and I opened a bottle of Pink Champagne. Dare we hope my Submission suggesting that constructing a weir at Wellington was about as sensible as building a wall of Lego blocks across the surface of a bowl of porridge, and Rory’s comparing a future salt water Lake Alexandrina with the salt pans north of Port Augusta, has had any effect?
But Dahlings! There’s more! On November the 10th, a press release by the Goolwa Channel Water Level Management Project – whew – always think I might lose one of those words, there’s so many – announced that “pumping on the Goolwa Channel Regulator near Clayton was completed. The pumps were switched off at 9 am.” Well, Finally!! Yes, water levels had indeed reached the target Bar-Stool Height. And miraculously, this occurred after pumping only 27,000 Olympic-Sized Swimming Pools – 500 less than was allocated. Yippee! Just think, M’Dears, in the Universal Scheme of Things, that’s 500 agglomerations of palms, and li-los and curvaceous tanning bodies who won’t have to give up their water to the Goolwa Pool!
And joy of joys, everybody is assured that the environments of the Goolwa Channel, Finniss River and Currency Creek are now protected from “acidification caused by falling water levels in Lake Alexandrina”. Rory was dark on that. In particular that nobody gives a toss about Lake Alexandrina. And anyway, if all this acidification in Lake Alexandrina is so bad, then why have they commandeered 27,000 Olympic-Sized Swimming Pools worth of its Evil Waters?
And now M’Dears, believe it or not, Siphons have made an appearance, in words at least. All the fuss made by Members of The Public (including Rory and me) with letters to the paper and to web sites and to their parliamentarians, might actually have achieved something!
During the next few weeks, the three large pumps at Clayton will be taken away and six Siphons placed across the structure instead. The only down side is that when the Goolwa Pool level rises above Bar-Stool Height, the management will make decisions “adaptively” between returning water to Lake Alexandrina or releasing it through the Goolwa Barrages “…to improve the health of the upper Coorong estuary”. I suspect the Great Big Flush isn’t entirely off the agenda.
But Siphons M’Dears, it seems we will have. What a shame they won’t be giant chrome 1930s Soda Siphons. Lake Alexandrina could do with a bit of aerated water!
Cheers, M’Dears,
Po’
