Residents have gathered at Lake Eppalock in central Victoria, calling for the state government to release more water fearing more flooding if there is significant rain.

Lake Eppalock is at 98 per cent capacity, with forecast rain putting displaced Rochester residents on edge.

In October, Victoria experienced record rainfall and Lake Eppalock spilled, the Campaspe River burst its banks and communities downstream, like Rochester, were inundated. 

Retiree Lucy Willoughby had just moved to Rochester when her house was destroyed by the October flood. 

“Everyone said it would never happen … and it did,” she said.

“We were just utterly shocked and devastated 

“It was a mass of mud … like a brown sludge coming through and it engulfed our home.”  

Nine months on, Ms Willoughby is still living in a caravan, fighting with her insurance company to repair her home.

“It’s so desolate,” she said.

“So many houses are still empty.

“It [the flood] devastated the town.” 

Ms Willoughby was one of 50 people at Lake Eppalock on Sunday, armed with buckets, taking matters into their own hands, as authorities insist their hands are tied. 

Spill may not lead to flooding 

Lake Eppalock is one of many dams across the state that are nearly full. 

Lake Eildon, Dartmouth and Thomson Dams are at 97 per cent. 

Authorities say releasing more water from lakes prior to the rainfall would not have prevented the October floods. 

Martina Cusack, Goulburn Murray Water’s general manager of water storage services, says when Lake Eppalock does spill, it does not mean the Campaspe River will flood. 

“Residents who have lived in the region for some time will have seen the Lake Eppalock spillway activated at least 29 times since it was constructed in 1964,” she said.

“Of those 29 times, only six were above the flow at the minor flood level of 21,200 megalitres per day.”

Residents ‘fighting for our town’ 

But this information is little comfort to Rochester residents. 

Catriona Jenkins wants to see authorities do something to prevent another catastrophic flood from wiping out the town. 

“The government has the power to do something about this,” she said.

“Send the water down, give us that little bit of airspace in the lake and allow us to breathe easier.” 

Every rainy day causes anxiety in the community. 

“You’re sitting in a caravan watching the rain come down, and you’re aware how close this lake is to spilling,” Ms Jenkins said

“We know spilling isn’t the issue.

“But the idea there might be another flood is terrifying.” 

Authorities ‘closely monitoring’ situation 

The Lake Eppalock embankment walls are nearly 5.2 metres higher than that of the spillway.

Ms Cusack said this provides some flood mitigation by temporarily holding water back. 

“What this means in a major event like we had in 2022, is Eppalock mitigates the water levels by ensuring the flows out of the lake are less than the flows in,” she said.

Goulburn Murray Water says it continues to work closely with the Bureau of Meteorology to monitor short and medium-term rainfall forecasts. 

The state government says Lake Eppalock and Lake Eildon is being assessed to see if changing operating rules or infrastructure could better protect downstream communities from future flooding.

“The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action is conducting a technical assessment of the operating and infrastructure arrangements at Lake Eppalock and Lake Eildon to determine if changing the operating rules or infrastructure could improve protection for downstream communities from future flooding,” a spokesperson said. 

“The assessment findings are planned to be released in November this year.”

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