A former chair of the Launceston Flood Authority has weighed in on the kanamaluka/Tamar River raking debate, after a report released last week deemed a trial largely ineffective.
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The City of Launceston Council has called off further raking in light of the Sedimentation Management Report - to be discussed at its Thursday meeting - and would return to dredging the estuary as a short-term solution instead.
The report found raking sediment had in fact moved it into navigational channels, causing difficulty for boats.
Alan Birchmore, chair of the authority between 2012 and 2018, said with more flexible rules to allow raking during favourable conditions the method was a better silt management strategy than "any alternative".
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Mr Birchmore used an example of a Trevallyn Dam spill event in 2013 which, compared to another in 2011 with more than twice the amount of water, removed more than twice the amount of sediment when combined with raking.
He also pointed to 13-months of dredging work undertaken from 2008, at a cost of $4 million, which saw sediment levels increase by 20,000 cubic metres.
"Using South Esk spills, raking is low cost and it works," Mr Birchmore said.
He added delays in permit permissions and increased bureaucratic control of raking operations had impacted the ability to react quickly to these conditions, with the report also not adequately addressing flood risk.
A government spokesperson said the reports needed to be "fully considered" before any action was taken.
"Based on the findings in the reports it is unclear at this early stage what measures, if any, can be taken to improve the levels of sediment in the Tamar," they said.
"Any calls to change the current arrangements for managing the estuary may be premature given there is no clear path forward on this issue."
Governance of the estuary is spread across a number of municipalities and jurisdictions. Along with funding commitments, an advisory body, the Tamar Estuary Management Taskforce, was established under the Launceston City Deal.
The state government has said it would not seek additional funding in light of the report. Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer has not indicated if she would lobby the federal government for any either.
In comments on Friday, Launceston Chamber of Commerce executive officer Neil Grose said developing a "clearer aligning" of management bodies could help realise the economic, social and environmental "opportunities" of the waterway.
He said other cities internationally had achieved this task but it appeared to be "lacking" for the Tamar.
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