COROWA businesses were looking forward to a bumper Easter this year after tourism numbers took a hit from 13 years of drought.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But just four months after floods drenched the area, the Murray River at Corowa is so low you can’t get a tin boat away from the town’s boat ramp.
“I’ve been that frustrated with the drought over the past 13 years then we finally get some water and it’s all gone again,” business owner James Walch said yesterday.
“The river is still empty.”
The Hume Dam is at 93.3 per cent capacity and Mr Walch, who runs a boat repair business in the town, doesn’t understand why water isn’t being released.
“We lost a huge amount of tourists because we’ve been in drought for the past 13 years, now they’re just starting to come back and there is still no water in the river,” he said.
“There is a huge amount of cranky people here.”
Mr Walch said the success of his business depended on the river level.
“If people are not using their boats, they’re not getting them serviced and they’re not buying parts,” he said.
“The river level has a huge affect on my business, and others around Corowa,
“I’m just over it.”
Mr Walch said to add insult to injury, most boat ramps in Corowa have been closed because flood-affected trees have blocked them.
He said the water level was so low at the moment that he can’t get a boat on to the river.
“We tried to get a little tinny out there and we hit the bottom,” he said.
“There is no way we could get anything out.”
David Dean, licensee of the Royal Hotel on Sanger Street in Corowa, said the level of the river had a direct effect on tourism and employment in the town.
“If the dam was empty, I’d get it, but it’s choco-bloc full,” Mr Dean said.
“It’s a tragedy in my opinion.”
But a spokeswoman for the Murray-Darling Basin Authority said the Hume Dam was designed to ensure water conservation.
“We are conserving water for future years and for future uses,” she said.
“The current river level at Corowa reflects the natural scenario of seasonal inflows.
“If there is further rain and inflows to the dam, then dam releases would also increase, raising the river level at Corowa.
“MDBA is currently passing downstream the inflows to the dam, and these inflows are currently fairly low. But if there is further rain then releases from the dam may be increased as inflows increase.”
The Murray River at Corowa was sitting at 1.47 metres last Sunday and 2.09 metres yesterday.
