Sold Down The King River

Source: Wangaratta Chronicle 25.08.08

King irrigators treated ‘unfairly’, call for big dam for more water security

Written by DON HEATH.

KING River system irrigators say they are being treated unfairly by Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW) and are playing second fiddle to the Murray and the environment.

And Walter Sartori and Malcolm Carson, chairman and deputy chairman respectively of the King River Water Services Committee, say the uncertainty of water security is holding back development in the valley.

Both have reiterated calls for the State Government to enlarge Lake William Hovell.

Mr Carson, a beef producer at Docker, said it is clear Lake Mulwala is presently being used as a regulatory storage by G-MW for the Murray, the needs of Adelaide, and the environment.

"As a result, and because Lake William Hovell is so small and overflowing, we are watching precious water flow past to fill Yarrawonga, while the gates of the Hume and Dartmouth remain virtually closed," he said.

Mr Carson said the uncertainty facing irrigators all stems from the refusal by the State Government to look at enlarging the King’s storage.

"It is so small that every year we have to rely on good spring and summer rains to keep us going through the season, otherwise William Hovell empties quickly and we are put on severe restrictions," he said.

"For instance, during the 2006/07 drought we were placed on a total ban in February 2007, while Murray irrigators continued merrily on their way on 95 per cent of their entitlement.

"Many people don’t realise how small it is.

"A storage facility on one property, Cubby Station in Queensland, is currently holding 50 times the capacity of Lake William Hovell."

He said water security and reliability are crucial to the economic development of the farming industry, and further development of the King Valley was being restricted by the uncertainty, year to year, of water from the river.

"Farmers make lifelong sacrifices and investment decisions to install the infrastructure to farm on a long term basis, and knowledge of a secure water supply is vital for those decisions and investments," he said.

"But the river also has many more demands on it over and above farming, and that is another reason we certainly need to have a larger storage.

"Think about the needs for stock and domestic along the length of the river, supplementing the water needs of Wangaratta city and industry, supplying the smaller towns in the valley, recreation and tourism, the increasing needs of the environment, fire control and much more.

"All that, and also the point it is much more efficient and cost effective to use water close to where it falls, leads to the point the King dam must be enlarged."

Mr Carson is also concerned that G-MW may decide to allow water to be sold outside the system.

"We have quite a number of ‘sleepers’ along our river who, annually, don’t use any or all of their water entitlements," he said.

"If the cost becomes too prohibitive, and if they are allowed to sell their water outside the system, then that water will be lost to our region forever."

According to Mr Carson and Mr Sartori, price increases on the King are also on G-MW’s agenda, with a blowout and a significant price hike in the cost of water per megalitre over the next five years one prediction.

Some fear a tenfold increase is coming, with a meeting on September 5 expected to shine more light on the future.

"We can’t say too much," said Mr Sartori, a grapegrower and beef producer at Whitfield, “because decisions have not been made by G-MW yet, but irrigators are very apprehensive about the costs they may face in the not too distant future.

"With state and federal funding not being forthcoming to pay for the (announced $7 million) upgrade of Lake William Hovell, necessary because of new government safety standards, the money has to come from somewhere.

"And irrigators are in the firing line to help pay the costs."