When necessary, it is completely drained.

The weir is opened and the system takes all the water through suburbs to the sea via large drains. These were the original course of the river. The drains cope with flooding which can occur.

More importantly, upstream was given priority. Clean water without rubbish was the outcome.

Adelaide also has the most amazing wetlands situated on the northern limits.

These wetlands filter road runoff and water from built-up areas to clean contaminants, especially heavy metals, before heading out to sea. The wetlands have produced extended bird habitat. Win-win.

There is so much we can do to improve our environment, but, money drives decisions. And, bureaucracy is growing like a monster.

DICK James is wrong in just about everything he says in his letter (The Sunday Examiner, December 1). The proposed prison is not "some distance from the town".

It is right on the town boundary, at one of the main entry roads to the town, only two kilometres from the post office.

The prison will be surrounded by a six-metre-high concrete wall, not a fence as he states, making the prison and its purpose blindingly obvious to everyone.

Even more ridiculous is his suggestion that residents should be more concerned about Tasmanian Alkaloids than the proposed prison. Tasmanian Alkaloids is not a narcotics factory, as he incorrectly states.

It is and has been for many years, a multi-million dollar export processing factory for Tasmanian grown poppies, supplying 60 per cent of the alkaloids for the world's painkillers. This factory is a major wealth producer for Tasmania.

By contrast, the proposed prison will produce zero wealth and will cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars to build and maintain far into the future.

It is obvious which of these us taxpayers should be concerned about.

Westbury residents do not want to become a taxpayer-funded community.

They want to continue their present strong economic growth using their own industry and private enterprise.

Is that too much to ask?

ON Sunday I was involved with Sally's Ride for mental health.

It was windy, hilly and a bit wet; a tough and rewarding experience except for one instance of road rage where a young male abusively gave some advice to move over to the edge of the road.

His rage was prompted by seeing me struggling up a steep hill in windy conditions and getting somewhat untidy in the conditions. I was puffing hard, head down and the wind was blowing. The first I knew I had cars behind was when one of them beeped and I immediately tidied myself up.

It takes extra effort to strive continually to stay on the straight and narrow when on a bike in hard conditions (my excuse) and a bike still moves around quite a lot so it is impossible to be right on the very edge of the bitumen all the time.

I suggest, rather than whipping ourselves into a frenzied, impatient rage, that we as road users get used to the idea of beeping when we come across cycle groups just to let them know we are there. Many truckies and a few car drivers do just this even when the cyclist is hard to the left, and I value their effort to communicate their presence and try to give a thumbs up in appreciation.

All cyclists, especially any single cyclists, would immediately get themselves tidy as they realise there is a car is behind.

I know that is exactly what I do.

The new law allows cars to overtake cyclists whenever it is safe, and cyclists are allowed to ride in pairs.

My personal preference, if riding in small groups, is for single file whenever there is traffic about which takes us back to beeping.

Australian culture is to think that beeping is rude, perhaps this needs to change, in this case at least.

BEFORE Medevac was passed there were six deaths from treatable illnesses on Manus and Nauru. After Medevac there were none.

Now, senator Jacqui Lambie has joined with the Coalition to repeal Medevac when it was obviously working well. Deliberately withholding medical treatment from the sick is totally unacceptable; it is inhumane and unforgivable. Was there a deal between her and the government?

She says there was, they say there wasn't. Someone is lying. She won't tell why she voted as she did.

We have a right to know that. We live in a democracy, Jacqui, just remember that.

THERE appears to be an opportunity to have the Cat Management Amendment Bill 2019 reflect community concerns.

If domestic cats were kept within their owner's properties, there would be no need for other property owners to purchase and operate traps and have the onus of either returning the trapped cat to its owner or taking it to a management facility, with resulting ill-feeling.

HOW is it that all the other states have 12 representatives in the Senate and Tasmania only has one?

I defy anyone to name even half our senators, especially those in the major parties.