RECORD flooding in the Wakool River is spreading a devastating path of inundation across farms.
Farmers on the New South wales side of Murrabit have waged a constant battle over the past three weeks to maintain flood levees holding flooding that is up to 60 cm higher than previous major floods.
Water is expected to remain on thousands of hectares of paddocks for about another month, severely hampering farming operations for months to come.
While near-record flooding on the Murray river and flooding of parts of towns have grabbed the headlines, the plight of farmers along the Wakool River has gone almost unnoticed.
Former Wakool shire councillor, Ron McDonald, believes the failure of authorities to carry through with a flood mitigation plan after flooding in the mid 1970s is aggravating the plight of farmers in the lower reaches of the catchment.
“It has done a lot of damage”, Mr McDonald said.
Murray River flooding which has flowed out through Koondrook State Forest on the NSW side and has entered creeks feeding the Wakool system to bolster the flood flow.
Sheep have been stranded on a couple of properties and thousands more have been transported out for agistment.
All but about 240 hectares of John and Judi Ficken’s 1600-hectare “Merran Downs” is flooded and an adjoining McDonald family property is also severely affected.
Many district roads are also under water.
The Wakool River flood is also pushing water into the Merran Creek, which also traverses the Ficken property.
Mr Ficken has spent the past three weeks constantly patrolling and repairing sections of a 4 km levee.
“We had a couple of major breaks. We were able to plug on, but I let the other one go”, he said.
A flock of lambs remain in a paddock near the house and 1200 breeding ewes are being agisted on a Victorian property.
Although the flooding appears to have surpassed previous floods, Mr Ficken said that it was the duration rather than the height that will affect his farming operations.
Paddocks started flooding during the last week in September and may not be dry for another month.
No feed will remain after such period of saturation and the Fickens do not expect to be able to re-introduce stock until late December.
Mr Ficken sees a certain irony in the expected need to sow pasture seed.
“In the name of progress, we ploughed up the native pasture. What little we have comes back better and is better for the stock. Normally there would be feed there after the water has gone down, but I’m not sure whether it would last that long either”, he said.
Water is within 5 metres on one side of the house and Mr Ficken has been setting out each day in a motor boat, passing through the back gateway of the houseyard and travelling for more than five minutes to take fuel to a tractor powering a pump, then returning to the boat and travelling for about another 10 minutes to check the state of the levee.
ROADS CLOSED
The Wakool River flood alert will remain for about another week until the peak reaches Stony Crossing, but it will be weeks before all the water recedes.
NSW State Emergency Service controller at Moulamein, Mr Neil Whelan said yesterday that farmers in the Cunninyeuk and Mallan areas were currently waiting for the expected peak.
SES words have been helping farmers with supplies of sandbags, hay and plastic sheeting to strengthen levees.
Mr Whelan said that the Moulamein unit appreciated the support of the Kerang SES unit, which has pent four days helping remove sheep from flood-bound properties.
Roads closed in the area yesterday were Gonn, Nacrrie South, Fishes, Swan Hill-Deniliquin, Nacurrie North, Cunninyeuk, Mununda and Cabool Island.
