$31.3 million promised for Lower Murray levee repairs
Twelve months on from the peak of the River Murray flood, the state and federal governments have finally come up with a long-term plan to help irrigators.
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A step in the right direction – that’s how irrigators are describing an announcement on Thursday morning of $31.3 million in funding for the Lower Murray’s levees.
The state and federal governments will spend $17.1 million on “critical remediation works” for 12 government-owned levees which protect valuable farmland between Mannum and Wellington.
The state will spend another $14.3 million doing the same for 16 privately-owned levees.
Over the next three years, the state government will then develop a longer-term plan for how the levee system should be maintained and managed.
Long Flat irrigator Joanne Pfeiffer welcomed the announcement, but warned it was not the be-all and end-all.
“It’s encouraging,” she said.
“From our perspective, it entitles us to just keep pushing (for a long-term solution).”
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Wall Flat irrigator Sam Martin, who has been more openly critical of the government’s approach to the levee system, was less impressed.
“They shouldn’t think this is something they should be patted on the back for,” he said.
“It’s just what they’re obliged to do.
“It’s very frustrating that they’ve taken this long when it’s not a big job, and we (farmers) have had five, 10, 15 jobs we’ve had to do.”
State MP Adrian Pederick agreed.
“I’m a bit stunned that it’s taken more than 12 months,” he said.
“I’m pleased (the funding announcement) has happened, but why has it taken so much pushing and prodding?”
If $20 million had been lying around all along, he suggested, the state government should have spent it by now instead of waiting for the federal government to chip in.
The president of the SA Dairyfarmers Association, Andrew Curtis, was also cautious in his praise.
“SADA welcomes today’s announcement,” he said.
“This has been a long time coming.
“We remain concerned about the quantum of the funding and the term ‘intermediate’.
“We remain ready to actively participate in the future planning.”
Murray Bridge News understands a meeting of irrigators from each of the Lower Murray’s reclaimed irrigation areas will be called next week.
Ms Pfeiffer hoped all irrigators – not just one representative from each irrigation trust – would be invited.
Why are the levees so important?
For decades, the levees along the River Murray between Mannum and Wellington have kept river water off the floodplain swamps – some of South Australia’s most fertile land – and protected farms from flooding.
But almost all of the levees failed during last summer’s River Murray floods.
It took the better part of a year for the state government to pump the water out so that farmers could start to get back on their feet.
Seven levees then failed for a second time in September, flooding farms again.
A state parliamentary inquiry into the flood response is ongoing.
Still, Deputy Premier Susan Close said Thursday’s funding added to the “considerable” help provided to farmers and businesses since last summer’s floods.
“This commitment by the Australian and South Australian governments acknowledges the importance of the LMRIA agricultural area to the regional economy of South Australia,” she said.
“This funding will allow for the completion of immediate works while a longer-term strategy is developed to bolster resilience of the region’s levee network.”
