168 gigs for the lower lakes is about a months worth of evaporation. They need to build the lock at Wellington to raise the pond level of the river between there and Lock 1, then open the Goolwa barrages and let the sea water in. The lower lakes were always esturine before the barrages anyway so it really would really only be reverting to the way it was. Having the lower lakes open to the sea would mean a lot more water would flow in and out the Murray mouth with the tides, so the mouth would remain open, and the salinity level of the coorong would also come down. I believe its 5 times as salty as the sea on the southern end. There are farmers of course who have established irrigation direct from the lower lakes. They may need help to relocate, they could convert to dryland because it is a 20"rainfall area, or water could be piped from Jervois or Tailem bend, That can't be done at the moment because of the low pond level. The only thing that is stopping this is that there is a state election in a couple of months and Mr Rann doesn't want to step on anyones toes. I undestand though that the plans for the wier have been draw up and contractors have been appointed .

'Benefit the entire murray river system' hmmm... even upstream?? That's pretty amazing?! Enjoy the evaporation. Great comments Will - it is the low rainfall areas that need the water for agriculture.

Wait a minute - wasn't the water for the environment for environmental flows of the Murray. If this is the case, then the govt releases 20GL from where along the river? Will any of this be able to make it to SA lakes - should any of this make it there? Really there are other problems in NSW and Vic that need water too. Why are these lakes so precious? At least they have the ocean right there to be able to source water. Why take freshwater and mix it in? What a waste of good water. Why are all the decisions based on making sure precious SA is ok when the neighbouring states are being bled dry?

Whoa! Slow down boys! Your thinking is what has got us into this mess. Dividing and engineering off sections will and does only produces very bad outcomes for the end user, us as farmers. The environmental reserves are not endless. The river flushes the crap out, especially salt. It is a whole system integrated and complete and like any good machine only works well when everything is in sync. Also don't forget the water cycle - evaporation here is the western district of Victoria's rain. So shift your thinking and look at it from an Australian point of view.

Fair enough Twodragons, so what do you suggest we do about it? Remember, there are two issues here: 1. Do we need another wier/lock down at the lakes end, bearing in mind there another 15 locks from Blanchetown upstream? And 2. Do we let seawater back into the lower lakes, bearing in mind that oldtimers will tell you about sharks and dolphins seen up as far as Tailem bend? These are two entirely different issues. Two things to remember, there isn't a lock between Blanchetown and Goolwa, a distance of 200kms, dead flat, so if they want to get the pond level high enough to at Mannum to pump water for Adelaide, they have to let it go into the Lower Lakes, and the government don't want to do this as it will use all SA's allocation in evaporation. You mention flushing crap out, especially salt, well with a lock/wier at Wellington, they can flush the salt out and clean up the river, but they can't do very much without a wier. It's like trying to wash your feet without putting a plug in the bath.