Major flood recovery milestone as River Murray levee banks reopen

The levees are the first of the government-owned levees in the Lower Murray Reclaimed Irrigation Area (LMRIA) to reopen after the devastating 2022-23 River Murray floods.

Located between Mannum and Wellington, LMRIA is protected by 27 government owned and privately-owned agricultural levees spanning 107km.

During the 2022-23 River Murray flood – the third highest recorded in SA – 18 levees were overtopped and two were breached, causing damage to the levee network and inundating large areas of agricultural land.

While emergency stabilisation works were undertaken immediately after the flood, the urgent nature of those works meant damaged levees required further works before public access could safely be granted.

The $17.1 million LMRIA Levees Intermediate Remediation Project, funded by the Australian and South Australia Governments, is restoring sections of eight government-owned and 12 privately owned levees significantly damaged during the flood to their pre-flood height.

The remaining government-owned levees at Cowirra, Neeta, Wall Flat, Pompoota, Mypolonga, Mobilong, Monteith and Jervois will remain temporarily closed while remediation works, safety assessments and associated site activities continue.

The State Government is aiming to progressively reopen all government-owned levees by the end of 2026, subject to weather conditions and construction schedules.

The Department for Environment and Water has worked closely with LMRIA landholders and other key stakeholders throughout the project.

Quotes attributable to Tom Campbell, Assets and Operations Manager, Water Infrastructure and Operations, Department for Environment and Water 

These remediation works have been vital to restore the levee network and ensure public safety for all users.

As works are completed and sites are assessed as safe, government-owned levees will progressively reopen to the public over the coming months.