One of the areas hardest hit by the recent Murray River flooding was Corowa.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The substantial winter and early spring rainfall led to a brimming Lake Hume followed by substantial releases.
It is usually expected that this will lead to minor flooding downstream as the Murray River breaks its banks.
In Albury that meant flooding in some of the usual places, especially in Noreuil Park.
It was an inconvenience but especially so for the operators of the River Deck Cafe, who had to briefly relocate to the Albury Club in the centre of town.
Much of the more significant impact was on those landholders who make a living from farming adjacent to the river.
Significant damage was done to pastures, to produce, to fencing and roads, as the floodwaters surged across these lower-lying areas.
All this created a significant damage bill and a lot of understandable anger among farmers who have levelled the blame for their misfortune at the feet of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
Specifically, that has been the claim that the lake should never have been allowed to fill before releases even began.
The authority has countered that with the argument that its carefully managed release program could not have been done any other way given the wet weather experienced was an act of God for which even the most extensive of planning could not have prevented the releases program undertaken.
It is a disagreement that surely will continue in the months ahead.
Nevertheless, some good does appear to have come out of the mess. And it’s there for all to see, down by the banks of the Murray in Corowa.
That is where you can find the Corowa Caravan Park, which suffered some of the most devastating impact of the recent floods.
A massive clean-up of the site was required and repairs carried out throughout the property after 80 per cent of the park was inundated by water.
While some work still needs to be done, the park is now at the stage where it will re-open on Thursday.
A lot of that is thanks to the tremendous support provided by the community to help owners Don and Cheryl Ayres get things close to where they were before.
We congratulate the couple and the people of Corowa for what they have achieved.