Irrigators urge Murray barrages upgrade
Updated
Irrigators are calling on the South Australian Government and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to upgrade barrages at the lower lakes, near the Murray mouth.
The barrages were built stop salt water from the Southern Ocean spilling into the Murray.
Recent stormy weather has pushed salt water into Lake Alexandrina, because the barrages were not closed in time.
Colin Grundy, the last irrigator on the Murray at Mundoo Island, wants all the gates on the barrages automated.
“[I want] to stop the sea coming back in and putting salt water back into the lakes, which is lifting the EC (electrical conductivity) level of the lakes,” he said.
“They (gates) need to be automated because if you could just push a button they’ll shut, or if they do it automatically with salinity meters and level meters, they can do it automatically by themselves, which would even be better.”
Topics:salinity, murray-darling-basin, rivers, environment, water-supply, water, water-management, irrigation, rural, goolwa-5214, renmark-5341, adelaide-5000, sa
First posted