Wellington Weir

The following is a media release made By the Premier of South Australia.
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Wellington weir would help irrigators to survive

Hon MIKE RANN MP, Premier
Minister for Economic Development
Minister for Social Inclusion
Minister for the Arts
Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change

November 9, 2006

Premier Mike Rann says the SA Government’s planning for a weir at Wellington will help our irrigators survive in the event of extreme drought conditions continuing.

“We are in the grips of the most extreme drought on record, and we must do all we can to maximise the available water not only for towns and cities, but for our irrigators as well.

“It is well within the State’s interests to protect the irrigator’s interests.

“South Australian irrigators are the most efficient users of water extracted from the River Murray in Australia.

“The value of the product leaving the farm gate of River Murray irrigators in SA is around $642 million annually while the yearly Gross Regional Product of this produce is estimated to be just more than $2 billion.

“The Riverland is an extremely important part of our State’s economy and it is within no-one’s interests to see it harmed.

“That is why we will fight hard for a whole-of-Basin approach to this Australian drought – to sure up supplies of fresh water to the region.

“But any responsible Government must plan for worst-case scenarios.

“And that is why plans are underway to build a temporary weir at Wellington, which in an emergency situation will sure up drinking water for Adelaide and country towns, and maximise the available water for irrigation in the event that extreme conditions continue.

“We hope we don’t have to build it, let alone be forced to use it, but we need to be prepared if the season doesn’t break.”

South Australian irrigators are currently only allowed to use up to 60 per cent of their water, because of the predicted low flows into the Murray.

“We are confident on the data and advice to date that we can hold irrigators allocations at 60 per cent to the end of the water year, but if the dry sequence continues, measures such as building the weir will need to be undertaken to maximise supply in 2007/08.

“The SA Government will be doing all we can to sure up our drinking water and maximise the amount available for our irrigators.

“We hope that all this planning will be to no avail and that the drought will break, but we have to be prepared in the event it doesn’t,” he said.