Irrigators say lower lakes not so flush
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Irrigators around Lake Albert say a renewed push by water authorities to tackle high salinity will not work.
The South Australian Water Department is opening barrages near the mouth of the Murray to let thousands of megalitres of salty water out so fresh water can flow in.
More floodwaters are expected from upstream in the next few months, but local farmer Lesley Fischer thinks a new approach is needed urgently to tackling high salinity.
“This is a technique they’ve been trying for 40-odd years and slowly but slowly Lake Albert is getting more saline and they’re dumping vast quantities of water out into Lake Alexandrina,” she said.
“It’s time to look at the bigger picture and if something is not working you try something else.”
Mick and Lesley Fischer’s property overlooks Lake Albert but they cannot draw on its waters because of the salt level.
The Meningee Narrung Lakes Irrigators Association has drawn up a five-point plan to address the salt issue.
It wants a pipeline built across the Narrung Peninsula to the Coorong and a removal of silt which has accumulated at the entrance to the lake.
Topics:murray-darling-basin, salinity, rivers, environment, irrigation, rural, water-supply, water-management, water-pollution, narrung-5259, goolwa-5214, clayton-5256, renmark-5341, mount-gambier-5290, sa