Water levels at Lake Eppalock have locals and politicians concerned.
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“How can we be better prepared, when nothing has changed?”
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That’s the response from a Rochester resident to claims from Campaspe Shire Council interim chief executive Craig Niemann that “communities are better prepared” for flooding down the Campaspe River.
Mr Niemann said council had been watching Lake Eppalock carefully.
“I’ve learned there’s a lot of readiness,” he said.
“If there’s any sort of flooding down the Campaspe River, our teams are really well prepared, and the communities are better prepared.
“There’s better knowledge of if and what happens (in the case of flooding).”
A concerned Rochester local, speaking to The Riv on the condition of anonymity, disagreed with Mr Niemann’s claims, saying discourse about the lake had split the town in two and become toxic.
“Half the community think we’ll be fine and want to stop talking about the 2022 floods,” they said.
“And the other half is terrified every time water levels get high because of what happened in 2022.
“Yes, we’re going into summer, and we’ve got an El Niño declared, but no-one can predict the weather.”
Lake Eppalock was at 101.1 per cent capacity as of 11am on September 10, with water flowing over the spillways as intended, but residents and the Victorian Opposition are worried spring rains could spell catastrophe.
Water flowing over Lake Eppalock’s spillways this week.
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“This really affects people’s mental health,” the anonymous resident said.
“I’ve been approached by people who lost so much in the ’22 floods who are seriously concerned about the water levels.
“For the chief executive to say we’re better prepared when no major changes have been made to infrastructure or levees and the flood study is still not complete, is just plain wrong.
“No-one’s saying it’s definitely going to flood, but no-one can say for certain it won’t, and that’s the issue.”
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