Riverland prepares for rising Murray
A Riverland council is sourcing clay to reinforce levees, sand for sandbags and high-capacity pumps as it prepares for the highest River Murray flows since 1975 to arrive from flood-hit Victoria.
Renmark Paringa Council said today it was taking action after the state government released a forecast that up to 120 gigalitres a day or more could flow into the state by early December from flood-hit Victoria.
State government engineers and flood planners arrived in the Riverland today to assess the strength of major levees ahead of potential flooding.
The council said it was also assessing its stormwater network for potential backflow.
“Council has previously sought external funding from other levels of government to assist in these works and will continue to pursue assistance for the remediation of this infrastructure,” a council statement said.
“In addition to proactively addressing risks associated with River Murray flooding that may potentially occur in the coming months, Council is also currently addressing potential risks associated with localised flooding across the area caused by imminent rainfall events,” the statement reads.
“We have assessed council infrastructure that is affected or likely to be affected by rising water, including roads, boat ramps, parks and assets. This infrastructure assessment will continue to occur on an ongoing basis.”
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis said while there are currently no plans to close ferry crossings, the Waikerie and Morgan ferry crossings may be impacted by rising water levels.
“[The department] is closely monitoring the impacts of the high-water flows across all 11 ferry crossings in case other crossings may also need to be closed,” Koutsantonis told parliament on Thursday afternoon.
“The Waikerie crossing is unable to operate if the river depth exceeds 9.2 metres Australian Height Datum, which is expected to occur if water flows increase to 90 gigalitres per day. The Morgan ferry is expected to be inoperable if river flows increase to 110 gigalitres per day.”
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Koutsantonis also said heavy vehicle freight could face detours.
“The Waikerie crossing is the only crossing with heavy vehicle permits for 26 metre B-Double combinations,” he said.
“Five heavy vehicle permits have been issued and are conditional on the operators utilising an alternate route if the crossing is closed due to high river flows.
“The nearest crossing which commuters and freight companies can utilise if the Waikerie crossing closes is the Cadell Ferry crossing, which is approximately 38 kilometres from Waikerie.
“In the instance of B-Double vehicles, the nearest crossing is the Sturt Highway, Kingston-on-Murray Bridge, approximately 51 kilometres from Waikerie.”
