A GROUP concerned about levels at Lake Eppalock rallied at one of its spillways on Sunday demanding authorities release more water from storage.<\/p>\n
The reservoir is at almost 99 per cent capacity, and the group including many Rochester residents are concerned about a repeat of last\u2019s years flooding that inundated the town.<\/p>\n
Protest organiser Catriona Jenkins said many downstream need to prepare for future floods.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fighting to ensure that what\u2019s put in place are some really substantial strategies that will help us in the future when we do have exactly what happened to us in October last year,\u201d said Ms Jenkins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just this year, and letting a bit of water down now that we\u2019re fighting for, we\u2019re fighting for our town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shelley Nichol said she believed residents would \u201cnot give up\u201d on getting action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people on the edge, and nobody\u2019s talking about mental health,\u201d said Ms Nichol.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve been through a flood twice, it\u2019s devastating. The families that have gone through it in 2011 and 2022, I don\u2019t know how they can do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2011 we were told it would never happen again, and people sat back, we were really naive, we really believed in the politicians that they would do something, and they haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graeme Ludbrook said he had to be evacuated from his flooded home last year by boat, and that he has ongoing anxiety from the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet enough water out so that people can breathe a bit easier,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the moment she\u2019s chock-a-block, so everybody in the town basically, they\u2019re stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wayne Vincent said he\u2019s sent emails to politicians with concerns, and the response he got back said they were also waiting for action from one of the lake\u2019s management authorities, Goulburn-Murray Water.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, somebody in power needs to be able to say yes let that water out\u2026 we need a critical point in Eppalock that states let that water go,\u201d said he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at 99 per cent full now. One deluge and we\u2019re in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
The water storage is jointly managed by irrigation authority GMW, who is responsible for 82 per cent, and drinking water utility Coliban Water which looks after 18 per cent.<\/p>\n
GMW general manager of water storage services Martina Cusack said the organisation\u2019s primary role is to \u201cstore and deliver on behalf of individual entitlement holders.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also said GMW must not release water unless required to supply primary entitlements, regulate water quality issues, or for maintenance purposes.<\/p>\n
\u201cReleases are made to meet customer orders,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A day after the protest, GMW announced the company had begun releasing 800 megalitres a day, which Ms Cusack said was due to projected inflows, and that further increases were possible.<\/p>\n
Ms Cusack said the reservoir was designed to hold 100 per cent of its capacity, should the weather and environment allow, to maximise release potential for customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A GROUP concerned about levels at Lake Eppalock rallied at one of its spillways on Sunday demanding authorities release more water from storage. The reservoir is at almost 99 per cent capacity, and the group including many Rochester residents are concerned about a repeat of last\u2019s years flooding that inundated the town. Protest organiser Catriona […]<\/p>\n