Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) River Management Acting Executive Director Dr Andrew Kremor said regular maintenance was essential to support the communities and industries that depended on the reliable operation of the river infrastructure.
“We have scheduled the works following consultation with tourism operators, irrigators, the Mildura Rural City Council and the Wentworth Shire Council,” Dr Kremor said.
“We understand lowering the water level and closing the lock will cause some inconvenience and we thank the community for their understanding.
“The height of the river will slowly fall through the week by 3.5 metres as the trestles are removed from the water.”
Goulburn-Murray Water’s Water Storage Services general manager Martina Cusack said houseboats and other river craft would be able to access Lock 11 until 4.30pm on 20 June 2022, after which time the lock would be closed for the duration of the works.
“We encourage boat operators, river pumpers and other river users to make allowances for the lower river level and the lock closure when planning their activities into early July,” Ms Cusack said.
“Boat owners will need to consider what action they might need to take to prevent possible impact on their vessels, depending on their craft and where they are moored.
“The weir works will be a carefully staged operation. In the first week, we will open the gates of the weir to lower the upstream river height and gradually pull out the boards that hold back the water. We will then winch three of the old trestles out and replace them with new ones.
“Once the weir is fully operational in the third week, the weir pool will gradually be returned to its normal height.”
The Mildura Weir and Lock 11 are operated and maintained by GMW on behalf of the MDBA.
