Animal fears as river dries

Alex de Vos
Increasing stagnation of the Barwon River is threatening plants and animals including platypus, authorities have warned.
But the region’s peak community environmental body, Geelong Environment Council, said it would oppose a flush of drinking water to save the river’s ecology.
Corangamite Catchment Man-agement Authority chief executive Don Forsyth said flows in the river had fallen below one megalitre a day, the lowest in almost 40 years.
Mr Forsyth warned the river faced more outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae if dry weather persisted.
The river provided important habitat for platypus and native fish.
“While these species are adapted to Australia’s variable climate, the current low flow conditions in the Barwon are likely to stress the populations if they were to continue,” Mr Forsyth said.
Geelong Environment Council president Joan Lindros said the stagnating river reflected the “diabolical situation” of ongoing drought facing the region.
“The environment is suffering severely and we’ve really over-stretched most of our rivers by extracting too much from them,” Ms Lindros said.
“It’s tragic to see it in this state.”
Last month authorities flushed 80 million litres of drinking water down the struggling Moorabool River to save plants and animals. The allocation followed a similar flush last year.
But Ms Lindros said she would oppose a flush for the Barwon because the region’s water storages were too low.
“I don’t believe there’s enough water available. There is just so little water for people and the environment.”
The region’s water storages were 24.2 per cent full yesterday after losing about 850 million litres in the previous week.