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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-09-12 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

Lower River Murray Levees

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: The Lower Murray Reclaimed Irrigation Area was hit hard late last week, with strong southerly winds of up to 72 km/h rapidly raising water levels by 400 millimetres to 500 millimetres in under 24 hours. Overnight on Thursday, seven levees overtopped as a result of wind seiche.

Two government-owned levees at Long Flat and Pompoota and four privately owned levees at Kilsby, Westbrook, Toora and Glen Lossie were overtopped. A privately owned levee at Placid also breached following overtopping. These levees were already vulnerable following the devastating impact of the 2022-23 River Murray flood event.

Severe weather events are becoming more extreme and unpredictable, and the people of the Lower Murray Reclaimed Irrigation Area especially know that from their experiences during the flood event. When these events occur, there is a significant amount of work that is required to enable landholders to return to their land, and with the help of the state government they will be able to do just that.

Since early on Friday morning 8 September, the Department for Environment and Water has worked closely with the State Emergency Service, Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, SA Water's Engineering Functional Support Group, landholders and contractors to assess and undertake the works to stop the overtopping at six levees as quickly as possible.

Repairs at the privately owned levee at Placid, where the levee breached after overtopping, are not safely possible at this stage. The state government will continue to work with landholders to assess damage and required works as a priority.

While in general the level of inundation was minimal compared to that experienced during the 2022-23 flood, PIRSA has quickly mobilised to dewater the affected areas. Additional pumps were also placed over the weekend to assist with the dewatering of Pompoota and Long Flat. PIRSA will continue to work closely with the landholders affected by this recent overtopping to assess further dewatering requirements, and additional pumps will be deployed where necessary.

Since the 2022-23 River Murray flood event, the state government has funded immediate stabilisation and dewatering of both government owned and privately owned levees to ensure that, regardless of who owns them, the landholders are able to get back onto their land and be productive as quickly as possible. We recognise that there is still a significant way to go, and we will continue to work with landholders on further stabilisation and reinforcement of the damaged sections of levees on a priority basis.

The levees are vital to the Lower River Murray to protect important agricultural enterprises as well as critical infrastructure, such as roads, water and energy supply assets. The state government is considering options for the intermediate and longer term stabilisation of the LMRIA levee banks. Following the flood, the government created a working group and engaged with landholders to identify and prioritise options to secure the long-term integrity of the levee system. As immediate works are completed, this longer term work will commence.

While the River Murray has been experiencing a high-flow event, with flow at the South Australian border recently peaking at around 53 gigalitres a day, the flow rate is decreasing and is expected to fall to approximately 31 gigalitres a day over the coming week. This type of flow is most common in winter-spring, when the Murray catchment receives the bulk of its rainfall. While I understand the heightened alert from the community following the flood events from 2022-23, this level of flow creates no cause for alarm for the broader community. For landholders, the mental toll of seeing water again on their land has been considerable—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: —and the government continues to offer grants and financial assistance, technical assistance and mental health and wellbeing support for those affected by the floods and the recent event.

When the flow rate at the South Australian border exceeds 40 gigalitres a day, a High Flow Advice notice is issued by the Department for Environment and Water. Members of the public can access up-to-date flow information by accessing the SA River Murray Flow Report from the department's website. Members of the public are also encouraged to stay up to date with current incidents and warnings on the South Australian State Emergency Service website.

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