Riverland residents say Barmera’s Lake Bonney never should have been closed during the River Murray flood event, as the lake’s inlet to the river reopens today.

Key points:

  • Barmera locals say they should have been consulted before Lake Bonney’s inlet to the river was closed
  • Blue-green algae emerged within two weeks of the lake not receiving River Murray flows
  • The Berri Barmera Council will explore moving or upgrading its waste and storm water infrastructure

The South Australia State Emergency Service (SES) closed Nappers inlet with a temporary levee in December to protect waste and stormwater infrastructure, private properties and businesses from flooding.

The levee stopped the river from flowing into the popular lake and within two weeks a blue-green algae bloom emerged.

SA SES incident control officer Brad Flew said many agencies were involved in making the decision.

“It was incredibly complex, with a number of key stakeholders involved across many government departments, involving the council and emergency services as well,” he said.

The inlet under Nappers Bridge was blocked with a temporary levee in the heigh of the River Murray flood event.(ABC Riverland: Sophie Landau)

But Barmera resident Jack Miller said the local community should have been a part of the process.

“There was a public meeting last week between 20 concerned residents … not one of us was consulted about what we thought should happen around the edge of the lake,” he said.

“It means a lot to the people of Barmera.”

Mr Miller said tourism has been quieter than usual due to the outbreak of the algae, and he wants to see measures put in place to ensure that Lake Bonney is never disconnected from the River Murray again.

“We had the freshest lake we’ve had for ages, and it would have come up considerably higher, I realise that,” he said.

“But I think protecting the infrastructure would have made more sense.”

Working to keep the lake open

Berri Barmera Council Mayor Ella Winnall says the council aims to ensure the inlet remains open in the future.

She said the council would assess moving or upgrading infrastructure to higher ground, or putting bypasses in place for wastewater services.

Ms Winnall says the council wants to explore ways to flood-proof Barmera without closing Nappers inlet.(ABC Riverland: Sophie Landau)

“We would like for the town, the infrastructure and properties to be able to be protected up to about the 1956 flood level,” she said.

“Closing the inlet isn’t the solution to flood-proofing Barmera.

“We’d like to do some work in the next year or so to see what that might look like so we can keep the lake flowing permanently.

“This flood would have seen parts of Queen Elizabeth Drive [in Barmera] be inundated as well, so we just need to look at a different plan for floodproofing in the future.”