About the Landcare group
The group at work
Meeting with local politicians and Minister
Inspecting the new regulator
Why the group was formed
With the construction of Lock and
Weir 3 downstream of Yatco lagoon the site became permanently inundated in
1925 and had remained that way until 2007.
The move from natural patterns of wetting and drying to permanent
inundation, while allowing irrigation and domestic water supplies to be
sourced from the lagoons, also resulted in a gradual decline in water
quality in the system and the health of fringing trees and other vegetation
in some parts of the system.
Recognising the importance of finding water savings for the overall health of the River Murray, and for Yatco Lagoon itself, the irrigators operating around the wetland, with support from Banrock Station Wines via Landcare Australia Limited, Nippy’s Fruit Juices, the Loxton to Bookpurnong Local Action Planning group, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board and the South Australian Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (as it was then) formed the Yatco Wetland Landcare Group, in late December 2006.
The group has three
key objectives, as follows:
1. To develop a Wetland Management Plan, including a Wetting and Drying Operational Plan, for Yatco Lagoon;
2. To improve the quality and efficiency of water supply to current users of the lagoon system by relocating irrigation and domestic water pumping infrastructure to main channel; and
3. To investigate water saving through the reduction of evaporation from the Yatco lagoon system.
The formation of this Landcare group, brought together landholders, community and business sector interests and government agencies to be proactive in pursuing water savings through a range of engineering solutions in order to see wetting and drying reinstated to the system, see eleven irrigators provided with a piped, better quality water supply sourced from the River Murray, and also see three domestic users given more reliable and better quality water also. The opportunity existed for a significant win-win outcome.
How it operates now
Advice to come
Members of the group
Details coming
This initiative relies on the support of the following as well:
