Minor flooding has peaked at Shepparton and the Goulburn River level is slowly easing, according to VicEmergency’s final minor flood warning issued at 1.37pm on Sunday, January 14.
The river peaked at 10.31m late on Friday evening and minor flooding may continue at Shepparton overnight tonight and into Monday.
Loch Gary operating rules did not activate as the river did not reach 10.36m.
Releases from Lake Eildon are at 7500Ml/day, as of Sunday afternoon.
VicEmergency also issued a minor flood warning for the Goulburn River downstream of Shepparton.
Flood waters will continue to move slowly downstream to McCoys Bridge during Sunday into Monday, where the river level may peak just below the moderate flood level during Monday or Tuesday.
The Goulburn River at McCoys Bridge is currently at 8.39 metres and rising slowly, below the minor flood level.
It may exceed the minor flood level, 9m, overnight on Sunday into Monday.
McCoys Bridge on the Murray Valley Hwy is currently open with a 40km/h speed limit in place.
The Peter Ross Edwards Causeway, Midland Hwy, has a reduced speed limit to 40Km/h due to wildlife and pedestrians.
Other road closures include Watt Rd between McLennan St, Mooroopna and Riverview Dve, Kialla, Raftery Rd from Edgewater Rd to Sevens Creek Dve and Mitchell Rd between Goulburn Valley Hwy and Archer St.
On Saturday, the Incident Control Centre released its final update on the flooding in the Goulburn River, stating that it is expecting the flooding at McCoys Bridge to remain under the moderate flood level.
Shepparton Control Centre incident controller Brendan Corboy thanked first responders in the Goulburn Valley for their work over the last week.
He also acknowledged that although it was only minor flooding, there were people impacted by the flooding, not only those who had to evacuate but orchardists who lost harvest due to the flooding.
On Friday, Mr Corboy took over from Ray Jasper as Shepparton Control Centre incident controller — and had some important messages to anyone thinking about swimming in the Goulburn River to cool off.
In a nutshell — don’t do it.
“The highest risk now is kids being around waterways,” he said.
“Floodwaters aren’t the same as the normal river and people need to be mindful of that.
“People shouldn’t play in them, or allow their kids to.”
Mr Corboy said that while in flood, there would be debris floating down the river, making it a dangerous spot to be.
Chemicals from farms upstream could also have washed into the system, while contents of low lying septic systems may also have washed into the river, he said.
“There is an infection risk and it can impact your health,” Mr Corboy said.
“You can avoid that risk by avoiding the water.”
On the topic of safety, Mr Corboy also reminded people to abide by any reduced speed limits that had been placed on local roads.
“Road limits are important to be followed,” he said.
“It’s not just the speed limit, but can also be for the integrity of the road.”
Mr Corboy said if roads had been inundated with floodwater, they needed time to dry out and if people did high speeds on them while still drying, it could affect the integrity of the road surface.
This then could lead to problems with the road further down the track.
My Corboy said people were also distracted while driving on roads near floodwater, and instead of watching the road, were looking at water or animals on the sides of the roads.
Lower speeds will also help here, but people should make sure they are paying attention to where they are driving.
Speaking of looking out for animals, on Friday Greater Shepparton City Council reminded residents to watch out for snakes escaping the water, not just larger animals which might cause traffic issues.
As of Sunday morning, the Mooroopna and Shepparton sandbagging sites have both closed with no plans to reopen while the Murchison site at 14 Watson St, Murchison, remains open 24/7.
In terms of council buildings and facilities, Aquamoves, KidsTown, the Botanic Gardens and the Victoria Park Lake Caravan Park are all closed until further notice.
Arcadia Streamside Reserve, Shepparton Regional Park, Lower Goulburn National Park, Gemmill Swamp Wildlife Reserve, Loch Garry Wildlife Reserve and Kanyapella Reserve are all closed.
Last week, on Thursday evening a search was carried out in the Goulburn River.
Shepparton Police Acting Sergeant Bridie Bremner said two men in a tinnie approached some off-duty CFA members and told them they had seen a car in the Goulburn River “about 10 bends back” from where they were about 3pm.
Police did not receive the information until later, where they immediately launched a search of the river.
With the police helicopter not available, the air ambulance helicopter came from Bendigo to search the river from the air, while the Shepparton Search and Rescue launched a boat from the boat ramp near the causeway in Shepparton.
SES and police were also involved in the search.
The Shepparton Search and Rescue team searched along the river all the way to the area near Pyke Rd, off Toolamba Rd in Mooroopna.
No car was found by searchers.
“Nothing came of it,” Act Sgt Bremner said.
She said police received information later that it was possible the vehicle had overturned and was missing parts and was possibly just a car wreck that was swept into floodwater because the river was so high.
“We don’t believe anyone was in it,” she said.