That was the prediction of Indigo mayor Bernard Gaffney in the wake of the opening of a $3.1 million repair job.

A major leak was found in the lake three years ago, prompting planning for what turned out to be one of the largest engineering projects in the shire for well over a century.

Beechworth residents got their first chance to look over the finished product – and to walk along a road on the new spillway wall – on Saturday morning.

The rain bucketed down but that failed to deter more than 50 people from coming along for the event, which included a sausage sizzle under umbrellas.

“I’m confident that this will be a major tourist attraction not just for this area but for right across the North East,” Cr Gaffney said.

“We’re very pleased with it. I was in Beechworth this morning and everybody is talking about it.

“If the opening was held in sushine and not the rain we probably would have had a couple of hundred people there.”

It is expected the lake will become a popular fishing hole, especially for children.

To that end, thousands of fish around 30 centimetres in length, including trout, have been released into the lake in recent months, with further releases planned.

The work to fix the leak got under way about six months ago.

It was a substantial job, with more than 2500 truckloads of soil rock and sand – in total, more than 40,000 cubic metres – moved to create a new dam wall.

The project would not have been possible without a $2 million state government grant announced in July last year by Benambra MP Bill Tilley, who attended Saturday’s opening in the pouring rain.

The $1.1 million balance has been met by the council.

The lake holds about 500 megalitres and is spread over 13 hectares, with more planning to be carried out on improving its worth as a tourist attraction.

Cracks appeared in the road pavement running across the lake wall in January of 2012.

Following investigations revealed there was extensive seepage at the base of the wall.

The council’s next step was lower the lake’s level by two metres, the aim being to take pressure off the wall.

But as a result, far fewer residents and tourists visited the attraction.

Without repairs, there was believed to be a real risk of the wall failing if there was a flood, putting people’s lives at risk.