Farmers want a fix for fishway flaws
A FISHWAY installed more than eight years ago has become a source of contention for Giru residents, who say it is to blame for flooding problems in the area.
Hodel Rd resident Shane Jeffery blames a faulty fish ladder, installed by the Burdekin Shire Council in 2008 to help fish pass through the area.
Reports from as far back as 2009 mention flaws with the fish ladder, with fish migration below what it should have been after the installation.
After last week’s rain event Mr Jeffery’s 2.2ha block became a swamp as water swelled out of the causeway.
Mr Jeffery said his animals developed footrot from the prolonged wet paddocks and machinery got bogged for weeks, while some farmers were cut off by the water.
“It’ll be three or four weeks before this dries out,” he said.
“It’s quite honestly unfair for a lot of people.
“This is on my mind every night, every day.”
Burdekin mayor Lyn McLaughlin said the fish ladder was constructed after a report completed by the James Cook University Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research in 2007 identified a physical barrier at the location preventing fish passage upstream to Horseshoe Lagoon.
“The issue of flooding was first brought to council’s attention in February of this year,” she said.
“The existence of the fish ladder has raised the level of the water upstream.
“We’ve had discussions with the complainant and other property owners, who have indicated their willingness to work with council towards a resolution.
“Previous reports have addressed the efficiency of the fish passage but have not considered flooding.”
Cr McLaughlin said council was investigating solutions.
A report from James Cook University in 2009 described the fishway as not being “fully successful”, citing a key problem as the removal of a pipe blockage intended to force water to flow down the rock ramp fish way.
A report commissioned by the Burdekin Fish Restocking Association mentioned the same problem but also cited water undermining a “substantial section of the concrete grouted cells of the fishway”, making it impassable to fish.
Another problem related to a concreted surface in the middle of the channel potentially affecting flow direction and erosion.
The report set out four options to repair or relace the fishway, with estimated costs ranging from $ 12,000 to more than $ 116,000.
Burdekin Fish Restocking Association secretary Alan Griggs said the association had commissioned the report to get a better idea of how to get the fishway working properly to allow fish to pass through.