’Burra handles the heat
KORUMBURRA and Fish Creek businesses may be starting to feel the pinch after water restrictions were implemented on Thursday.
The stage one water restrictions were enforced by South Gippsland Water after Coalition Creek and Battery Creek reservoirs dropped to below 70 per cent capacity a fortnight ago.
Korumburra Business Association president Steve Bone said the sudden decline in water for the area was a cause for business owners to be concerned.
“We have gone from full capacity in water storage on Monday, September 21, 2015 to water restrictions within four months,” he said.
“For this town to continue to develop a guaranteed water supply is vital. Water restrictions could hold back the development of the town and of the businesses within the town. It could also make people more reluctant to live in an area and for businesses to invest, expand or develop their business within an area.”
Korumburra Garden Supplies nurseryman Mark Unthank said gardeners have shied away from the business during summer.
“People seem to assume they cannot grow plants in the heat so business has slowed for us,” he said.
“Some plants actually thrive in summer and most things can still grow. If you plant water storage granules beneath the soil and apply rewetting agent, they should still grow quite well.”
Mr Unthank said water restrictions should not drastically impact on gardening regimes, however gardeners must abide by laws.
“Gardeners should not be worried about water restrictions because they should have sufficient water to keep their gardens in check,” he said.
“They can put rewetting agent on the soil to save 50 per cent of their water use in the garden. It works on any type of soil and is especially good on sandy soils.
“It is more effective to deeply water plants once or twice a week rather than briefly water them several times a week. Deep watering will encourage plants to send their roots deeper into the soil and this will assist them in dry weather.”
Golfers can also continue to tee off at the Korumburra Golf Course, with greens watered from the club’s own water system.
Korumburra Golf Club treasurer Don Hislop said the course would be maintained over the dry season.
“The clubhouse has its own water tank because we use a fair bit of water to keep the greens alive,” he said.
“It would cost millions of dollars to replace the greens if we lost them in the heat. We have dams that we pump water from to keep it hydrated.”
First National Real Estate’s George Auddino said water security would not impact property values.
“It does not so much impact on the value of real estate, rather it impacts on the farmers, who have little water and have to bring feed in. If the farmers are doing well, we are doing well,” he said.
While property prices will continue to fluctuate, farmers are concerned about managing their properties.
“I have spoken to farmers who have had to dry off cattle because the cost of feed is too expensive,” Mr Auddino said.
“In past years people were not able to sell hay because it was in abundance. Now everybody is calling up seeing if we have vacant blocks they can cut from. They are after anything they can get.”
While extreme weather conditions have left some farmers in strife, Mr Auddino remained optimistic.
“This is considered dry weather for us but it could be worse. We are still known for our green hills and rain,” he said.
“Unlike some other parts of Victoria, we are fortunate to have not had consecutive dry years and we are managing.”
Summer estates: First National Real Estate manager George Auddino stands at a property for sale in Korumburra. He said the market was still thriving despite water restrictions.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Jan 19 2016. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
