High flows into Lake Alexandrina from the River Murray, strong winds and high tides have led to flooding in the South Australian town of Milang that seemed like it would be unaffected by the disaster affecting other parts of the state.
Key points:
- Milang is on Lake Alexandrina near the mouth of the River Murray
- Some shacks in the town are flooding and the jetty is closed
- No permanent homes are expected to be affected
Some shacks on the foreshore in the small town had water through them yesterday, while the lake’s edge is coming close to more today.
Milang is on Lake Alexandrina, one of two lakes at the end of the Murray before it reaches the ocean at Goolwa.
The lake is shallow and the land around it very flat so any increase in water level has an immediate effect on communities around its shore.
It had been hoped that barrages in the area would regulate the water level to keep towns safe but high winds yesterday have been pushing water on shore.
High tides prevent water from the Murray flowing into the ocean.
The jetty in Milang was closed by the Alexandrina Council yesterday as waves crashed on it.
Higher than normal tides are expected next week as water is continuing to flow into the lake at increasing levels from the Murray.
Dale Lewis’s family has owned a shack on the foreshore at Milang for more than 40 years.
He said the water was at the highest level he had ever seen.
Normally, his shack is 20 metres from the water but now it is 3m from the front door.
“We have got quite a lot of a water coming up over the front,” he said.
“There’s been a few shacks with water in them at the moment, but we are sort of preparing at the moment to see when the water gets to its highest level early next week by the sounds of it, so fingers crossed at this stage.”
He and other shack owners are sandbagging today.
“It’s a great community down here; everyone’s pulling together,” Mr Lewis said.
Minor increase means flooding
Power to the shacks’ septic tanks may be cut off if the flooding increases.
No permanent homes are expected to be affected by any flooding.
A community meeting is being held at the Milang Regatta Club from 6pm today.
Data from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority shows Lake Alexandrina had a mean depth of 1.2m yesterday.
Local state MP David Basham said it was at 1.3m last night and 1.4m could mean a minor flood.
“It’s getting [to be] a fairly small margin that we’re playing with, so there is a risk but it is just those 80-odd shacks that sit down on the foreshore of the lake that are at risk.”
The highest tides are expected next Monday and Tuesday, January 9 and 10.
The State Emergency Service is working with hydrologists to try to make sure communities around the lake are aware of the risks should the lake flood.
Chief officer Chris Beattie said he was worried about high inflows coinciding with high tides.
“We’ll be doing some work with our hydrologists at the Department for Environment and Water to just make sure that those communities are adequately aware of the risk, should we see some higher lake levels,” he said.
The ferry at Narrung reopened this morning after being closed yesterday because of high winds.
The ferry connecting Tailem Bend with Jervois is expected to close this week because of road closures nearby.
A third emergency relief centre to help residents affected by the ongoing River Murray flooding opens today at the Ramblers Football Club in Murray Bridge.
