Farmers 'haunted' by floods call for lake's water levels to be lowered (2024)

Geoff Kyval is standing beside the riverfront at his Whanregarwen property about two hours' drive north-east of Melbourne where memories of the October 2022 floods are incredibly raw.

WARNING: Some readers may find details of this story distressing.

He says a deluge of water swamped his farm during the flood event with 76 of his steers swept away in the wash.

He recalls heading out in his boat with his mates in other boats trying to save the animals.

"I had to physically cut cattle out of fences getting drowned in the flow," he says.

Mr Kyval says he felt numb, emotionless, and angry following that period.

He says while he and his mates managed to save most of the steers at his property, others were not so lucky.

"What haunts me is finding dead cattle wrapped up in the fence, dead wombats, just the death component," he says.

Mr Kyval lives downstream of nearby Lake Eildon, which is managed by Goulburn Murray Water.

He and other locals believe the way the lake was managed in the lead-up to the October 2022 flood event led to downstream properties being inundated with water.

They want to see the lake's water level lowered to around 90 per cent capacity heading into wet weather.

Flood inquiry recommends state action

Their concern was echoed by a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the October 2022 flood event.

The inquiry's July report said the committee "shares the concerns of stakeholders about the contributory impact water releases from large dams had in October 2022".

"The committee acknowledges that current water release policies are drafted to support the purpose of dams for irrigation and water supply," it noted.

"However, it believes that arrangements need to ensure they balance operational requirements and flood mitigation during heavy rainfall events."

The report recommended new state government temporary operating rules for water storage and release for "future weather events that are expected to replicate high storage and rainfall conditions".

"These new rules must take into account the interest of those who are affected by Eildon and [Lake] Eppalock's storages including downstream landholders and water entitlement holders," it noted.

'Not seeing any evidence'

Mr Kyval says communities need to see some action on the recommendation.

"I can see it [the report] being a doorstopper collecting dust," he says.

"I am not seeing any evidence of any goodwill to make any change coming into this current year."

He says the issue and any potential progress is "hidden in the dark at the moment" from the community.

"If this was Flemington Racecourse this would be a different story," he says.

'A real helplessness'

The ABC recently spoke to about 10 community members living in towns downstream of Eildon about the impacts they felt during the October 2022 flood event and subsequent smaller wild weather events, with a common concern being the management of Lake Eildon.

Those locals include Molesworth beef farmer John Baynes.

Mr Baynes says a whole season's worth of production was wiped out during the October 2022 floods when his property was inundated for five weeks and he lost all his pasture.

"If these [flood] events keep coming we are not sustainable. We can not survive," he says.

"Our three generations of farming — it will be done."

Fellow Molesworth beef farmer Lily Cox and her partner bought one of her grandfather's properties in July 2022, eager to carry on the family's history at the farm.

The two of them are working 60-hour weeks on top of maintaining the farm to pay off the property's debt.

But she says they have not made any income off of it yet given it has been inundated with water three times since they bought it, including during the October 2022 floods.

"The minute there is fear of rain or flooding or anything like that we go into a bit of anxiety," she says.

"It is a real helplessness."

Government department rejects lower water proposal

A Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) report in March rejected a proposal to reduce the lake's storage levels to 95 per cent or lower all year round.

It found that the "cost of offsetting supply reliability impacts outweighed the avoided flood damages".

The report also rejected a number of other proposals to adjust the operation of the lake to reduce flood risk downstream.

A DEECA spokesperson told the ABC in April: "All options explored were found to be ineffective or unreliable as flood mitigation and could negatively impact local tourism, economic growth and the health of local environment and wildlife."

A spokesperson for the Victorian government says it welcomes the flood inquiry report.

"Many affected people have been awaiting this report and its recommendations which we are now considering," they said.

"We are investing more than $22 million for council flood planning, including $10 million to complete more than 30 flood studies in regional Victoria.

"Lake Eildon provides a reliable and safe water supply for irrigators, towns and the environment, along with flood mitigation in wetter months."

A Mid Goulburn River Flood Mitigation Study being worked on by Murrindindi Shire Council and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority includes looking at whether new flood warning services could be provided at Thornton and Molesworth.

Goulburn Murray Water welcomed the inquiry and said it looked forward to seeing what proposals the government would adopt.