Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

SA Minister Caica Needs to Read My Report

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FRESH water allocated to the Lower Lakes in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is a “waste” and only serves to maintain an “artificial” environment, a new report says…

Reports Lauren Novak and Ken McGregor from the Adelaide Advertiser got that much right.

Their article is available online here http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/water-must-mix-in-the-lower-lakes-says-new-murray-darling-report/story-e6frea83-1226281052851

Comment in their article by State River Murray Minister Paul Caica that the Lower Lakes were not estuarine before construction of the sea dykes is nonsense. Lake Alexandrina is the central basin of a typical southern Australian barrier estuary.

To understand something of the long and short history of the Murray River’s Estuary read my short report

‘Plugging the Murray River’s Mouth: The Interrupted Evolution of a Barrier Estuary’

at http://jennifermarohasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Plugging-the-Murray-Rivers-Mouth-120212.pdf

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sean says

    Have tried the following on the Adelaide Now web site for the last couple of days. Peter struck it lucky got two comments listed but did not mention Lock Zero in either of them.
    Adelaide Now :-
    Build Lock Zero below Tailem Bend and you can split your old LRM into two new sections. Section 1. Begins upstream of Lock Zero and goes all the way back to D/S of Lock 1. In this section is Adelaide’s new potable water pool looking after pump stations at Tailem Bend, Jervois, Murray Bridge, Mannum and Swan Reach. This replaces the old pool that ran from the barrages all the way back to D/S Lock 1 at 0.75 M AHD. Section 2. begins D/S of Lock Zero all the way to the barrages. By automating the barrage gates we will be able to stop the Lower Lakes ever going below 0.15 M AHD again in drought periods and low flows. With the automated gates we can then try other levels e.g. 0.3 M AHD and see what people think of that level. We could increase the pool level to 0.75 M AHD open the gates at low tide and flush the Goolwa channel out through the Mouth.
    Section 1 can still be called the LOWER RIVER MURRAY and section 2. The LOWER LAKES. As mentioned earlier the Lower Lakes section can be lowered to 0.5 M AHD and save 694 GL. Lower River Murray with Lock Zero in place protects Adelaide’s potable water supply.
    Have tried again earlier today.

  3. Ian Thomson says

    Mr Caica either cannot read , or doesn’t choose to.
    Because he is a politician I would guess that it is the latter.

  5. Debbie says

    Good for you Jen & well said Ian.
    As pointed out in earlier posts DUH!
    If you reside near the coast then a major influence on your environment and your weather is coastal!
    Even though the LRM is part of the MDB, it has an extra unique influence. I do not understand why, but the political rhetoric is framing that as a horrible disadvantage and that LRM needs to be the same as the remainder of the MDB which is influenced by ephemeral inland patterns.
    Why can’t SA listen to practical residents like Sean, who understands the need to protect potable water supplies but also understands that the coastal influence can be a huge advantage?
    Every other coastal area I know of in Australia gets it. Why doesn’t SA?
    Yes it has it’s own unique characteristics and problems, but the LRM is influenced by coastal weather and the ocean. To claim otherwise is just silly and completely denying simple geography.
    Methinks we have duplicitous parochial politics operating and a refusal to recognise reality.

  6. John Sayers says

    Excellent speech Jennifer. You sure impressed Gerard and the audience.

    Surely one of the reasons for the building of the barrages in the first place was to ensure the level of the lake could be maintained to allow the paddle steamers to navigate to Goolwa at all times of the year to get the wool and wheat out, a reason that no longer applies.

  7. Peter R. Smith OAM says

    Here we go again.
    Hi Sean,
    Thanks Sean, no I didn’t mention Lock Zero but I am glad you are continuing to push the cause but of course it is not just about Lock Zero it is other upgrades that are vital within the Lower River Murray (below Wellington).
    Sean I would ask you to refer to the Lower Section of the River Murray as Lakes Alexandrina and Albert as there is no such place on any maps as the ‘Lower Lakes’
    Your points are 100% correct but we must not forget what must be done to Lake Albert, the inter-change of water from Lake Alexandrina must be re-instated or it WILL go hyper-saline.

    Hi Ian,
    That is a little bit rough on our Minister as even though I am not one of his greatest fans we know we must work together so we do so whenever possible. Last time I spoke to Paul he told me about his meeting with Ms. Marohasy and said that when he read the report she wrote about the meeting he wondered if it was the same meeting.
    Paul and I have had many meetings some which have not ended to well but I respect he views as he respects mine.

    Hi Dennis,
    I have listened to, typed out what was said and I am sorry but much of it is wrong Ms. Marohasy’s opinion.

    Hi Debbie,
    It’s always a pleasure I suggest you contact Ian Mott as I believe he has a better understanding of the interaction of the tides, winds and what influence the River flowing through Lakes Alexandrina bring to bear.
    Sean and I have been making our thoughts know to the wider community and I have/did personally contact EVERY Federal Politician, EVERY Shire and Council, AS MANY AS POSSIBLE major media outlets (TV, Radio and printed) and the MDBA in Australia with the Lock Zero proposal and we are up-grading the paper and going to do so again – please don’t say we aren’t doing our best for a change. I personally have been trying to promote this issue ever since the previous Premier (Rann) and Mister’s for the River Murray (Hill and Maywald) began talking temporary weir!
    It has been one long grind but we are not giving up!
    When Ms. Marohasy begins putting up the proper alternatives to just allowing seawater into Lake Alexandrina and TOTALLY ruining the LRM’s potable water supply someone may start listening!
    Re, “Yes it has its own unique characteristics and problems (THANK YOU FOR AT LAST ADMITTING THIS), but the LRM is influenced by coastal weather and the ocean. To claim otherwise is just silly and completely denying simple geography” but please do the research?
    Re, “Every other coastal area I know of in Australia gets it. Why doesn’t SA?” yes but you don’t know this area!

    Hi John,
    Yes, “Excellent speech Jennifer” good to listen to but that’s about it
    The Barrages were built instead of the Lock at Wellington (there was 26 proposed Locks to be built in the River Murray) and also as a trade-off for Lake Mulwala.
    It also must be remembered the Locks in the River Murray and to a far lesser degree in Darling were constructed so as paddle steamers could ply there trade along the entire River.
    Even through the drought that level was maintained between Lock 1 and the border which many of us, including scientists, believed was WRONG!

  9. Debbie says

    Thanks for the link SD,
    I missed the LL report.
    It seems no one is prepared to address the flawed methodology.
    There are plenty of scientists both in and out of the MDBA who are fully aware it’s flawed.
    Ultimately it was never about the science.
    Sadly, very sadly, it was never about the environment either. Not the ‘real environment’.
    It is in fact an extremely negative and contrived political power play and as Bernie Roebuck highlighted it is hurting real people, even children.
    He is correct, I live in this environment too and I am disgusted by the extra unnecessary burdens being placed on people who are already struggling with other market related issues. I am now particularly disgusted that we have state & federal politicians pretending that their totally negative and impractical Water Act and inplementation process has nothing to do with it. Bad policy accompanied by bad implementation and flawed methodology is not market related, it is most definitely govt and legislation related. Bad policy hurts people and communities. It is unforgivable. We do not get to control weather and global markets and we know that and as always we need to accept those risks. Bad policy and flawed methodology is a completely different animal and it can be changed.