With the Murray River rising to 5.9 metres this week, Rowers Park has been inundated by water.
With more heavy rain forecast across the region over the next week, local authorities are warning residents and holiday makers to be alert and prepared as moderate flooding continues.
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The warning comes as the Murray River continues to rise around Corowa, with the river height sitting at 5.9 metres as of Tuesday, September 27.
The river is likely to remain around the six-metre mark for the next week as the Murray Darling Basin Authority continues water releases from Hume Dam, combined with a cold front bringing rain and thunderstorms to an already soaked region.
Currently the MDBA is discharging 41,000 megalitres a day from the Hume to maintain airspace, which according to Executive Director of River Management Andrew Reynolds, will ensure they are “keeping the [Hume] dam safe, and capturing flows where we can, to mitigate flooding”.
The rising river level has prompted the closure of Corowa Caravan Park in South Corowa after the owners had been pumping water off the property since mid-August. On the other side of town, Bindaree Holiday Park and Rivergum Holiday Park have campsites and unpowered sites closed respectively.
Rivergum Holiday Park said they were managing well for the time being.
“At this stage, things are alright. The billabong and unpowered sites are flooded but we are not expecting the river to rise too much more,” staff member Lynne Smith told the Free Press.
“We’ve only had to move one of our site holders to higher ground. Obviously, there’s more rain forecast but we don’t believe we will be too much more affected.”
Elsewhere around Corowa, it’s not looking great for school holiday travellers wanting to spend time by the water. All Murray Valley National Parks and reserves along the river in the Federation Council region have been inundated by water and subsequently closed by National Parks NSW.
Corowa Caravan Park in south Corowa has closed due to the rising river levels.
For those hoping for some reprieve soon, the Bureau of Meterology is predicting the flood risk will continue in coming months, following the declaration of a third consecutive La Nina event earlier this month.
NSW SES Southern Zone Duty Commander Shane Hargreaves said community and school holiday makers should monitor local warnings as a cold front moves through the state.
“We are experiencing flooding around Corowa, and it is expected to breach the moderate flood level which is 5.9 metres,” he told The Free Press.
“The rise is due to both rainfall that has occurred over recent weeks, and dam releases as we get ready for this next front that’s coming through. The river will likely stay that way for a few days before it drops away.
“Around Corowa we are expecting showers over the next few days and severe thunderstorms are likely as well.
“Our message is to plan ahead, especially during school holidays with travelling. Specifically in Corowa, the caravan parks are being impacted by these high river levels so our units have been quite busy touching base with them over the last few months.
“We want to urge the community and any travellers to monitor local conditions, try not to stay close to the river, and heed any warnings from NSW SES, Victoria SES and caravan park owners.”
Corowa Rescue Squad is also keeping a close eye on the Murray River and urging community members who are prone to flooding to organise sandbags for their properties. In the event that residents require sandbags to assist in protecting their property, they can be collected from the Corowa Civic Centre with sand available free of charge in the Corowa Industrial Estate.
Meanwhile, as farmers in the region anxiously prepare for more rainfall, NSW Farmers Conservation and Resource Management Committee chair Louise Burge said authorities should “absolutely” avoid making flooding conditions even more extreme.
“The decision to keep Hume Dam at 96 or 97 per cent full means there is limited capacity to absorb any risks of large rain event in mountain catchments,” Mrs Burge said.
“Rules around the management of Hume Dam do allow a level of airspace to absorb another large rainfall event, but authorities are not enacting these rules even though there are no risks to irrigation interests if the rule was used to help mitigate flood risks.
“The risk of catastrophic flooding is even worse than what we saw in 2016 when the Central Murray Floodplain Plan failed and farmers had their livelihoods washed away by dam releases.
“In 2016, local farmers warned of the high risk of flood in a La Nina year but were ignored and as a result Hume Dam management led to catastrophic flooding in the Murray Valley because authorities didn’t use existing airspace rules that could have helped reduce the severity of flooding.
“I am really worried that we will see this repeated in 2022, but authorities are still not understanding that the risks are far worse this year than in 2016. It is a pressure cooker at present and the risks of a flood disaster are real.”
House boats in south Corowa are almost inaccessible from the riverbanks.
There are three things you can do to be prepared for potential floods:
•Develop your personalised flood emergency plan for your home and property by going to the State Emergency Service website for your state.
www.ses.nsw.gov.au
www.ses.vic.gov.au/plan-and-stay-safe
•Sign up, or check your details are up to date, for WaterNSW’s Early Warning Network to be notified by SMS, email or landline about dam activities during periods of flooding or high releases.
www.waternsw.com.au/supply/ewn
•Check the Bureau of Meteorology to receive the latest weather information including warnings, river conditions and rainfall in your area
