Flood operations at Lakes Eildon and Eppalock set to be reviewed

A technical assessment of the operating and infrastructure arrangements at Lake Eppalock will be undertaken, to determine if changing the operating rules or infrastructure could improve flood protection for downstream communities.

And an assessment of the operating arrangements of Lake Eildon will also be undertaken

It will be provided to local councils and Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, who are managing the current Goulburn and Broken Rivers Flood Study.

Farmers around the Molesworth area were still cleaning up earlier this month, after devastating floods on the Goulburn River in October, 2022.

Water Minister Harriet Shing said the technical assessments for Lake Eppalock and Lake Eildon would be used to support the local council and catchment management authorities in their regular review of flood mitigation strategies.

Ms Shing said last year Lake Lake Eppalock experienced the largest water flows ever recorded over its spillways

"These assessments will provide valuable opportunities to protect local communities from future flooding while taking account of the rights of existing entitlement holders, and managing potential risks and costs," Ms Shing said.

Yea beef producer Jan Beer said it was only right that an assessment should take place.

"It is very clear that water usage is very different since the inception of the Murray Darling Basin Plan but the operating rules have not changed, leaving people and communities downstream extremely vulnerable," Ms Beer said.

"People have suffered extremely large financial losses and overwhelming emotional stress.

"People in the Upper Goulburn catchment believe there could be improved flood mitigation in events such as the 2022 October flood and a of review of policies and operating management of Eildon Weir and Goulburn flows needs to be undertaken.

She said Goulburn-Murray Water stated it was standard protocol to review operating procedures after major flood events, such as that of October last year.

One review had already been set up to look at the operations of Loch Garry.

"It seems logical to conclude, that in light of the massive impacts of the 2022 floods that a similar review should occur for Eildon Weir," she said.

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Goulburn River Trout Farm owner Ed Meggitt, Alexandra, said he hoped, in future, the operators of Lake Eildon would take a more nuanced approach, to handling inflows and releases.

He said the authorities used what was known as an "inflow curve", based on the volume of water in Eildon and the amount likely to enter the dam, before determining releases.

"They just need to be a bit nuanced, I think," he said.

Mr Meggitt said he understood Goulburn-Murray Water's argument that the dam was built for hydro and irrigation purposes and any flood mitigation was a by-product.

"But I think there is a little bit of nuance and sophistication required around that inflow curve," he said.

Authorities did not need to be so ambitious in the amount of water they held in Lake Eildon, especially in La Nina and wet years

"The cost of the water, at that point, is so cheap the government could come in and buy it," he said.

"That would save them a hell of a lot of money, compared with the alternative of fixing all our infrastructure after floods."

He said everyone knew "this was going to flood."

"These procedures and rules they follow are written in a dry office, in February, and they [the storage managers] don't seem to revisit them very often and they certainly didn't take account of the prevailing weather conditions of last spring," he said.

All the climate indicators, including the La Nina, showed Victoria was in for a very wet spring.

"I accept the fact of all the benefit it brings to the irrigators, but, jeez, do they really need to flood out all these farmers and communities?"

Binbilla, Molesworth, manager Catherine Jessop said the review was "good progress".

"It's a good start, from what I have heard, [Eildon Liberal MP] Cindy McLeish is going to start to gather community input, which will all go towards what they are talking about."

Ms Jessop said she also hoped to see policies allowing for more airspace in the lake, to cater for "massive inflows".

"I think that's a basic thing to aim for," she said.

Binbilla, on the Goulburn River, went underwater during last years floods, with the recovery still underway.

"It's in full swing at the moment, the battle of the post-flooding weeds," she said.

"I have never seen such a variety of unknown weed bearing plants".

While there were still no cattle on the block, Ms Jessop said Binbilla's heifers would have to be moved back soon, as they were running out of feed in the higher country.

Campaspe shire mayor Rob Amos has applauded Ms Shing for announcing the review at Lake Eppalock.

Cr Amos said the council had recently made representations to the Victorian government to fund urgent research into solutions to mitigate the frequency and severity of flooding caused by overflow spillage from Lake Eppalock during extreme weather events.

Lake Eppalock's emergency spillway has spilled twice since its opening in 1963 resulting in widespread inundation and extensive damage across Campaspe.

"The spilling of Lake Eppalock in 2011 and 2022 caused catastrophic damage to the Campaspe Valley, particularly Rochester," Cr Amos said.

Ms Shing said the assessment was expected to take six months to complete, and the findings would be made public.