The Ceduna Drought Service Centre will be open on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 July. Based at the Eyre Peninsula Natural Resource Management Office, Surprys Mall, Ceduna, the following support services will be available via appointment:

• Centrelink, Rural Services Officer, Robert Holtham, 0428 681 856.
• Country Health SA, Rural Community Counsellor, Michael Hancock, 0437 329190.
• South Australian Rural Financial Counselling Service, 1800 836 211.

The Eyre Peninsula Drought Coordinator, Brenton Parsons will also be available on Wednesday 1 July, 0427 398 888.

A Rural Financial Counsellor also visits the Streaky Bay area weekly on Tuesdays, call 1800 836 211 to make an appointment.

The State Government Drought Response Team has welcomed the appointment of Julie Peltz to the position of Rural Community Counsellor (RCC) based in Waikerie.

Julie is moving from the Riverland Development Corporation and will replace Keltie Grant who has relocated to the Lower Lakes.

An announcement is expected soon on the new Loxton RCC position.

Construction of environmental flow regulators in the Goolwa Channel, Finniss River and Currency Creek will commence this week to manage the risk of further acidification in the Lower Lakes area.

The temporary regulators will raise water levels in Goolwa Channel and the two tributaries, limiting the exposure of acid sulfate soils to the air and to protect the area as an ecological refuge. The three structures will be in place by late July to capture winter inflows down the two tributaries.

People living within the area are reminded to take care as water in some areas is unsuitable for human contact and livestock consumption.

More information including a list of Frequently Asked Questions

The meetings will be held at the Clayton Bay Community Hall from 2pm to 3pm, and the Alexandrina Council Chambers, at Goolwa, from 4pm to 5pm.

The sessions will provide the community with information about the construction of environmental flow regulators in Goolwa Channel, near Clayton, and in Finniss River and Currency Creek.

For further information, contact DWLBC on (08) 8204 8605.

A new trial to add limestone to the drying lakebeds in the Lower Lakes using an aircraft will be undertaken this week.

The aerial trial to be undertaken over the lakebeds at Currency Creek is part of the State Government’s emergency response to manage acid sulfate soils in the region.

The trial will involve two low-flying aircraft dispersing around 360 tonnes of ultra-fine grained limestone directly onto the lower and upper reaches of Currency Creek.

More information

Irrigators will begin the 2009-10 water year on July 1 with a 2% opening allocation and access to 60 percent of their approved carry-over water volume.

While drought conditions across the Murray-Darling Basin remain extremely serious, South Australia has been able to secure enough water to make a small opening allocation possible.

More information

The latest Murray-Darling Basin Authority Drought Update shows that Murray system inflows for May were only 90 GL, slightly above the record low of 75 GL (in 1902), but well below the long term average of 390 GL.

For the June 2008 to May 2009 water year, Murray system inflows were the third driest in 118 years of records.

Copy of the MDBA Drought Update

The newly formed Murray Darling Basin Authority has begun the process of developing a plan to set environmentally sustainable limits on how much water can be taken from the rivers.

A ‘Concept Statement’ was released last week by the Authority, which explains the key elements and approach being taken in developing the new Basin Plan.

It is expected to be issued for public discussion and formal consultation in mid-2010 and the final Plan in 2011.

Copy of the Concept Statement

The fight to save Lake Albert from acidification has moved to the next phase.

Pumping of water to the lake will cease by the end of June, and a major bioremediation program will be implemented following a decision by the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council.

The bioremediation will include using micro-fine limestone and planting shallow-rooted cover crops to mitigate the risks of acidification in the lake. This is the first known attempt to bioremediate acid sulfate soil affected areas on a scale of this enormous size.

More information

• Construction of Goolwa Regulators starts this week (.PDF 95.4 KB)
• Water market and termination fee rules signed
• Emergency aerial limestone trial in Currency Creek 
• Opening allocation and carry-over announced for 2009-10
• Lake Albert bioremediation to intensify
• Latest Murray-Darling Basin drought update provides disturbing snapshot
• Murray-Darling Basin suffers through ninth dry autumn