Water Levels

Lake Alexandrina:
  -0.88m AHD
Lake Albert:
  -0.77m AHD
Goolwa-Clayton:
  +0.01m AHD

Trigger Levels

Lake Alexandrina:
  -1.5m AHD
Lake Albert:
  -1.0m AHD (revised)

Maps‎ > ‎

Wetlands Below Lock 1

The 'Wetlands below Lock 1' will be inundated with fresh water if the Pomanda Weir is built.  For several years now these wetlands have been drying out. There is a risk that some wetlands will turn acidic, and there is a risk that the toxic brew that is produced could flow into the River Murray very near where Adelaide's water supply is sourced.

The delaying tactics with the construction of the Pomanda Weir could result in a toxic legacy with some of the lower Murray and Lakes region being gradually destroyed by acid...read more

Other issues for the area 'Below Lock One' include houses at risk, the Swanport Bridge, and water salinity.

Click on the 'pins' to read more about each wetland and view a more recent satellite image. View in Google MyMaps.

Wetlands Below Lock 1


"The majority of wetlands below Lock 1 are now bone dry, with only 20% of wetlands in this region remaining connected to the River Murray as a result of low water levels. While a short dry period can be beneficial, extended periods of drought can pose significant threats to the health of a wetland."

This 2008 CSIRO report looked at nine 'unmanaged wetlands' below Lock 1 (6MB) On page 5, the scientists have put these nine into ASS risk categories ranging from moderate to extremely high. The wetlands studied are located on the map below using the scientist's UTM coordinates of their soil samples.

According to this 2009 presentation, Wetlands between Lock 1 and Wellington (3MB), there are eighty wetlands between Lock 1 and Wellington. Twenty-five of these wetlands will be 're-wet' when the Pomanda Weir is built.  Of these twenty-five, fourteen wetlands below Lock 1 will require 'some level of ASS management'.  These twenty-five wetlands are located on the map below.  


Click on the wetland below to see a more current hi-res satellite image.  Each image is approximately 500kb.


This is Purnong Lagoon wetland . Not mentioned in either the MDB NRM Board report above, nor in the CSIRO report below.  

Other problems in the region below Lock 1 and Blanchetown are levee cracking and bank slumping.