The facts are very unpleasant, but very clear. There is insufficient freshwater in the Murray-Darling Basin to support sufficient environmental flows to the Lower Lakes. Climate change and the predicted falls in total Murray-Darling Basin inflows combined with increasing human consumption will only make the problem worse (read the CSIRO reports).

The problem of no water is a complicated one that combines issues of drought, politics and over-extraction, but the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Goolwa Channel have an additional man made problem. The Goolwa Barrages that were constructed in 1940 create an artificial barrier between the sea and the River Murray. The resulting freshwater ecosystem, that we have been enjoying for 70 years, is totally dependent on government managed freshwater flows from the River Murray to artificially keep the Lower Lakes at the full supply level of .75m above sea level.

We believe the problem of the lack of water in the Lower Lakes can and should be decoupled from the rest of the problems of the Murray-Darling Basin by virtue of the Lower Lakes' proximity to the sea.  By opening the barrages to let in seawater, the Lower Lakes can be reconstructed and returned to a natural tidal estuary. This will conserve fresh water and maximize environmental flows for damaged wetlands up river that do not have the option of the sea.

As of May 2009, the acid sulphate soils in many locations have already dried out. Pools of sulphuric acid are forming with the winter rains and the current bio-remediation efforts are unproven.  There is no more time to wait and debate.

We therefore advocate:

Construction of a weir near Wellington; necessary to conserve freshwater in the River Murray and protect South Australia's water supply from contamination.

Construction of embankments on the Currency and Finniss creeks; necessary to to conserve freshwater from local rainfalls and preserve these wetlands as local freshwater havens.

Opening the barrages; necessary to restore water to the Lower Lakes.