Future Together 6 Returning Water to Our Rivers – Lake Mokoan

DSE3623 Lake Mokoan FA5 23/6/2004 10:48 AM Page 1

FACT SHEET Securing Our Water Future Together 6 Returning water to our rivers – Lake Mokoan

Following a comprehensive 18-month study and extensive community consultation, the Government will return the constructed Lake Mokoan to a wetland. The Lake is extremely inefficient and loses five times as much water through evaporation as the Rural City of Shepparton consumes each year. The Government will commission a major program of works in the Broken Valley to ensure that there is no reduction in the reliability of water supply to irrigators currently dependent on the lake. The local community and stakeholders will be kept well informed of each step in the decommissioning process. Lake Mokoan and water loss The Government and Goulburn Murray Water will keep the local community well informed during the transition. Extensive studies have identified Lake Mokoan as extremely inefficient. In fact, Lake Mokoan loses 50,000 megalitres, The Government will work to ensure that reliability of water or the equivalent of 20,000 Olympic swimming pools, of water supply for irrigators, farmers and local users, on and around every year. Lake Mokoan, will be maintained. The dam that forms Lake Mokoan was built in 1971 as a water Fishing storage for irrigators in the Broken River and Goulburn River areas in North East Victoria. Over recent decades, anglers have regarded the lake as a popular fresh water fishing location, particularly for Flooding the former Winton wetlands systems, between Golden Perch. Wangaratta and Benalla created the ‘man-made’ lake. Alternative Golden Perch fisheries exist in the Broken River, Intended works downstream of the lake were not completed Lake Buffalo, Lake Nillahcootie, Lake Kerford, and the much so the lake never fully served its intended purpose. larger Eildon and Hume reservoirs. In many of these waters, While it has contributed water to irrigators in the area, this stocking programs have been accelerated to provide enhanced supply has frequently been curtailed due to algal blooms. fishing opportunities for Golden Perch and other species. For Importantly the Government is committing to works example, since 2000, 240,000 Murray Cod have been stocked to maintain the reliability of supply to irrigators. into Lake Eildon, and 50,000 and 35,000 Golden Perch into Lake Buffalo and Lake Nillahcootie respectively. Anglers have Decommissioning the lake and rehabilitating the Winton recently reported the capture of legal-sized Golden Perch wetlands system will make available 44,000 megalitres of ranging from 0.5 – 4kg in many of these waters. water each year to improve the health of the Broken, Goulburn, Snowy and Murray Rivers. Lake Mokoan’s fishery will remain for several years before decommissioning and draw down of the Lake is complete. Victoria needs healthy rivers to support a healthy and growing During this period, the Government will explore options for economy and communities. the management of fish remaining in the Lake in consultation with the community. What lake decommissioning may mean to you Flooding Decommissioning Lake Mokoan will save Goulburn Murray Water customers $20 million in dam safety improvements over Lake Mokoan can play only a minor role in reducing floods on the next 10 years. the Broken River in Benalla. The channel drawing water from the Broken River could only reduce the impact of a ‘one-in-20- It will also remove the lake’s annual operating cost of over year’ flood by four per cent. It would have little or no effect on $600,000, which is largely paid by irrigators outside the region floods of greater magnitude. who derive little benefit. This operating cost does not include the price of fish stocking or water quality improvement works. (continued overleaf) DSE3623 Lake Mokoan FA5 23/6/2004 10:48 AM Page 2

SECURING OUR WATER FUTURE TOGETHER FACT SHEET

Firefighting Once the lake is decommissioned, the wetlands will remain a source of water for firefighting. The swamps are expected to provide for all firefighting requirements and a variety of alternative water sources exist nearby including farm dams and the Ovens River. Rehabilitating the wetlands The Government has allocated $1 million to rehabilitate the Winton wetlands system. The Government will work with Regional Development Victoria, Benalla Rural City Council and the local community to develop and implement plans for the recovered land including tourism plans which will consider alternate sites for yachting, and developing the tourism potential of the rehabilitated site. Victorian Water Reform Victoria is leading Australia in its integrated approach to water reform with programs designed to ensure sustainable water use across the State. The White Paper – Securing Our Water Future Together outlines major changes to the way all Victorians will work towards minimising water loss and waste, and increasing reuse. Victoria is also involved in two major inter-governmental initiatives to restore environmental flows to the Murray and Snowy Rivers without impacting on the rights of irrigators. Healthy waterways will provide security for agriculture, irrigation, rural and urban communities, recreation, tourism and the environment.

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