Living next to a heritage river like the Goulburn can be a soul-restoring experience.
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But every river has a floodplain and nothing is more certain than the Goulburn will occasionally burst its banks.
Retired farmer Ken Lord grew up on a property on the banks of the Goulburn, swimming in the river and enjoying the wildlife that populates the riverine landscape at Bunbartha.
But the lower Goulburn broke its banks and pushed through levee banks last October, flooding houses and farms in the Bunbartha area.
Ken’s house, just a stone’s thrown from the river, survived the deluge. But many neighbours were not so lucky, and he blames the neglected state of old levee banks for contributing to the devastation.
High river levels this month have added to the residents’ fears of another flood.
Ken Lord with one of the levee breaches along the lower Goulburn River at Bunbartha.
Ken took Country News on a short tour of one section of the old levee, on public land at the end of Medland Rd.
There are a number of gouged breaks in the old levee and a few sections which landowners have tried to repair.
Ken said there was evidence that the levees were broken by floods in 1974 and last October, and points to where the water gushed out across Bunbartha farmland on the north side of the river.
He said he had approached the City of Greater Shepparton, Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and Goulburn-Murray Water, but none had committed to repairing the levees.
“It seems they don’t belong to anyone,” Ken said.
Several residents concerned about the state of the levees have been in talks with Goulburn Broken CMA and Parks Victoria and according to reports, have been making some progress.
A hole gouged in a levee along the north side of the Goulburn River at Bunbartha.
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