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Voiceover (Coxy): Dimboola is in the heart of wheat-growing
country, around four and a half hours drive from Melbourne, along the Western Highway.
After many years of drought, water came back to Dimboola, and the Wimmera River, in the
form of a huge flood.
Michael Jensz (DSE): Yea I actually was living in this area around
that period of time Coxy and look it was dry, you could walk across this whole stretch of
river right now it was quite heartbreaking.
Voiceover (Coxy): But Michael Jensz from the Department of Sustainability
and Environment says it wasnít all bad.
Coxy: Now the riverís full the real workís over
is it.
Michael: Oh, I wish that was the case but no, you know,
our work is really just starting now. Weíve, you know, over the last few years the governmentís
got a whole lot of environmental water back. Since the floods everythingís sort of been
reset and now we can really go about our business and you know try to get these systems as healthy
as we can.
Voiceover (Coxy): Regular testing ensures the healthy environment
of the Wimmera River and the surrounding area through drought and floods.
Coxy: Man, it looks like youíre going to do a TV
interview it looks like a microphone, what is that?
Michael: Well itís a little bit like that Coxy, this
is actually a water probe monitor so we can actually look at the water quality in the
river. Do you want to just grab that there.
Coxy: Oh I knew itíd be getting wet.
Michael: And just throw it in. Iíll stand back here
so I donít get wet.
Coxy: What, the whole thing, the whole thing?
Michael: Yea just throw it in thatís right.
Coxy: Ok.
Michael: Beautiful.
Coxy: And what happens?
Michael: So now weíve just got to wait for a couple
of secs and youíll actually get to see how salty this river is at the moment. So if you
look at the sea, itís about 56 microsiemens per centimetre.
Coxy: And whatís this?
Michael: This is two.
Coxy: So this is nearly fresh water.
Michael: This is really good water, for this river.
So youíll have a good chance of maybe getting something if you throw a line in a little
bit later, if youíre a good fisherman or not.
Coxy: Mate, if thereís a fish out there, Iíll
Voiceover (Coxy): Now that water has returned to the Wimmera
River, itís teeming with bird and fish life. There are lots of ways to get out and enjoy
it and John Nicholls from the Dimboola Rowing Club is doing just that.
John Nicolls: Well thereís quite an opening nowadays for
Masters rowing which is over 27.
Voiceover (Coxy): Last year Dimboola celebrated its 123rd Rowing
Regatta.
John Nicolls: Oh well we get rowers form right across the
state, from Melbourne crews, Geelong, Ballarat, Mildura, Wentworth, Warrnambool, Hamilton.
Coxy: So itíd be great for the town.
John: Oh, absolutely fantastic, itís a big event.
Coxy: Now the waterís back, how are you gonna go
in the regatta are you competitive or have you got a bit lazy in the time off?
John: Oh we are competitive but we probably still
need to train a bit more.
Voiceover (Coxy): Darryl Argall is another Dimboola resident
enjoying the Wimmera Riverís recent rise.
Coxy: Before we start, Iíve gotta tell you I donít
care if we donít catch any fish. Look at this, this is, itís beautiful.
Darryl Argall: How good is it hey.
Voiceover (Coxy): Darryl not only lives in the area, but he
also works here too. Heís on the Board of the Catchment Management Authority, or the
CMA, so he knows all the best fishing spots.
Darryl: How are you going Coxy, got any fish there?
Coxy: Iíll work it out.
Coxy: The river, like, nobody would argue itís
looking fantastic. But have we got more chance of looking after the water than we had 20
years ago?
Darryl: Absolutely because up until three years ago
there was about 86 percent of the Wimmera River and Glenelg Riverís water was taken
out of them to feed the channel system. Theyíd release 185,000 megalitres of water per year
and theyíre use around about 25,000 megs of it. Now itís put into a pipeline, the
Hughes Pipeline. What goes in one end comes out the other, thereís not one drop wasted.
Voiceover (Coxy): For more information on the Wimmera River
and the work the Department of Sustainability and Environment do, visit dse.vic.gov.au.
Coxy: You know Darryl, I reckon, that is the one
that got away. But I tell you something else, I have never seen the river looking as good.
Voiceover (Coxy): After the break, its all aboard as we head
north, to Echuca. I tell you what, when you open that, sheís
warm.