Dear Editor,
In relation to Bob Sherwood’s letter I can think of other words than loose cannon! It absolutely amazes me the reaction that dams have on misguided people. In our last drought the river ran dry that is correct, dry, although Lake Rowlands had plenty of water in it. This water is being earmarked for everywhere except it’s natural water flow of the Belabula River. There was a cloud over whether water was being pumped further upstream however land owners never got an answer. Where were the people then screaming about water viability? The greenies didn’t care about our plight then when it was needed. For people unaccustomed to the Belabula valley ,it is unique for its series of billabongs and sub terrain rivers, it has water very close to the surface allowing us to grow crops like Lucerne which this valley is famous for without having to irrigate. There is no evaporation of water underground. This is with a dam at Carcoar that is effectively built on a hill, which irrigators only having access to approximately 1% of water that flow through this valley. Now for the next issue the Labour Government bought a vast amount of licenses on the Lachlan Scheme, they send this water down every year and every year it doesn’t make the Murray because there are marshes at the end of the river. Now this is the most interesting thing, these marshes are for native flora and fauna. So what do we do? Instead of flooding the marshes once every five or so years when there is a heavy rainfall event, we flood them every year. This has resulted in bird’s nests being flooded (for they know where the water height should be) and the big old river gums being so badly waterlogged that they have all died. It is now a haven for blackberry bushes, foxes and pigs. But you don’t hear the greenies say anything, they sit back in their city homes eating food produced in rural Australia and think they are doing their duty towards the environment. The world is running out of places to grow crops, this dam will see Canowindra blossom in tourism and intensive farming. The result will be more jobs and a more sustainable town not wholly dependent on broad acre cropping. We need this dam supported in meetings in Canberra and Sydney. Saying that Canowindra residents are against it is ludicrous.
Sincerely yours,
Mark Brown