North of Barham, the flood devastation continues as millions of dollars of crops are lost, houses flooded, and residents battle the relentless rising waters.
The river heights at Moulamein are setting new records, the flood benchmark height of the 1956 6.09m is eclipsed, with water exceeding 6.22m. The Edward River heights upstream are remaining steady, but pressure is being applied from the Billabong Creek.
Water in now spreading from the Billabong and encircling Moulamein to the north as Edward water does similar on the south side, heading through the reserves adjacent to the racetrack and across the Barham Moulamein Road and the Narcurrie North Road.
The cut in the Northern Channel is filling the Yarrein Creek, pushing water over the Narcurrie Road in additional spots and flooding farmland.
The Moulamein Football Club rice crop on Gary Jackson’s property and grown by Ian Polkinghorne has water lapping at the bottom outlet. Let us pray for no rain.
In speaking with residents in Moulamein, spirits remain positive but many shared frustration over the inaction on town levees post the 2016 scare and subsequent allocation of funding for maintenance.
The property of the Wilsons on the Billabong Creek is still dry thanks to the addition of more pumps, a total of nine pumps, electric and petrol. With the assistance of local volunteers, the rows of sandbags have continued to grow.
“We started at the start of October,” said William Wilson.
“Then, it was some plastic and a few sandbags.
“It’s just kept growing from there.”
The protection of the house is an engineering marvel and also stops water from flowing into neighbouring residences on the Deniliquin side of the Billabong Creek bridge.
For the residents, it is a nervous wait. The fifth and final road out of Moulamein had water overtop it on Monday, road surfaces covered by water are deteriorating, and even culverts collapsing in some instances.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 1 December 2022.
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