Pipeline Dream For Lake's Advocates

The Age

Friday June 20, 2008

By David Rood, State Political Reporter

PARTS of the parched Lake Mokoan area in north-east Victoria will be sold to help finance the Brumby Government's $20 million restoration of the soon-to-be decommissioned reservoir.

Up to 1500 hectares of land, with an estimated value of $3 million, will be sold as part of a plan to create a wetlands area.

Water Minister Tim Holding, who announced the restoration yesterday at Lake Mokoan, said the wetlands would be a recreational and tourism asset for the Benalla region.

"The decommissioning project will deliver between 45 and 54 billion litres in water savings annually to improve environmental flows in rivers, while maintaining irrigators' reliability of supply," he said.

Farmers and irrigators have opposed the closure of the 365,000-megalitre lake, with the Brumby Government yesterday promising no "irreversible decommissioning" works will proceed until alternative irrigation water can be delivered.

Lake Mokoan, which is 4% full, has been called the state's most inefficient water storage. Its daily summer evaporation loss is the equivalent of Geelong's daily water use.

Sally Simpson of the Future Land Use Steering Committee, which considered possible uses for the lake, said the wetlands would cover up to 7000 hectares, with land sold to help fund the restoration.

Artificial water will not be put into the wetlands: the area will wet and dry naturally and be returned to its original use.

"There is a real focus on wetlands becoming filters for water quality and refuge for flora and fauna," Ms Simpson said. "What were are trying to do is to recreate what the swamps were before they were drained."

But anti-decommissioning group Justice for the Broken Valley branded the decision a "patch-up", questioning whether irrigators will have a secure supply.

"I see nothing exciting about mud drying. It's still the wrong decision," chairman and nursery owner David Rush said. His group proposed a permanent water supply for irrigators and smaller wetlands.

Victoria's Liberal-Nationals Coalition is opposed to decommissioning the lake. Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu used yesterday's announcement to attack the Government's water projects. "The Government continues to treat the people of northern Victoria with contempt. We have seen that with the (north-south) pipeline, we have seen it on Mokoan," he said.

theage.com.au

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© 2008 The Age

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