Darling River flowing from top to bottom

Kim Chandler at Dunlop Station, downstream of Louth. Photo contributed

At last, water is flowing past Wilcannia, weir pools are beginning to fill, and communities along the Darling River south of Bourke are feeling hopeful that better times are ahead.

It’s been painfully slow progress for the flow to reach the town, but property owners, graziers and residents say there is enough to provide fresh water again for households and stock.

Kim Chandler runs Dunlop Station downstream of Louth, and said she felt a sense of relief to see the river flowing again.

“It’s been coming down at a pretty good level for a couple of weeks,” she said.

“We’ve had no water for some time and to see it reach even further downstream than that is amazing.

“The river has been dry at Dunlop weir, right through the river bank. There’s been no water at all except for a couple of puddles so just to give water for households is wonderful.

“Watching the water level stay up on the riverbank and not drop is amazing. It’s stayed level which is good news because sometimes it drops as quickly as it comes in.

“You look for those marks in the dirt on the banks to see how much it dropped but it hasn’t, so that’s a really positive sign to show the content of the flow has been continually coming down,” she said.

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