NORTHERN Midlands residents have singled out irrigation as a major contributing factor to a water shortage in Lake Leake.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Originally built primarily as the water supply for the townships of Ross and Campbell Town, residents now say farmers have been permitted to take too much from the lake for too long.
Campbell Town resident Bill Chugg said the "fox was in charge of the chickens" in relation to the Elizabeth Macquarie Irrigation Trust's oversight of the lake's releases.
"What saddens me most of all is the attitude of the irrigators," he said.
"They're gambling with the welfare of people living in Ross and Campbell Town.
"They gambled when they took the water here during the winter, they gambled that it would rain and we'd get the lake filled again."
One resident who wished to remain anonymous said the lake had been drained and left with just 200 days of water for the townspeople.
Another said he would like to see irrigation from the lake stopped altogether.
"They shouldn't have been irrigating out of it for as long as they were when it hasn't rained for 18 months," he said.
Lake Leake Chalet licensee Jan Milner said farmers should have stopped irrigating from the lake earlier than they had.
"It is my understanding that Lake Leake was built for the Campbell Town water supply," she said.
"If there is excess water, fair enough to have irrigation.
"It is about time we had proper control of our lake."
Elizabeth Macquarie Irrigation Trust chairman Julian von Bibra said it was easy to blame farmers for the problem but the lake was also an irrigation storage facility and was "not there to be kept full."
"The lakes were built for the provision of township water first and foremost, and then surplus water to a certain degree to be used for irrigation," he said.
"It's a historic dry period. We broke all records in October, and that's on the back of 18 months of dry, so I hear their concerns but it's not unexpected.
"In times of drought, this is what happens."
In response to a letter sent by Mrs Milner, Mr von Bibra said the current level of the lake had raised concerns with water managers about the ability to supply the town over summer and beyond.
"TasWater, Northern Midland Council and DPIPWE are currently looking into possible contingencies to obtain water from alternative sources were this to eventuate," he said.
