Ballina counts cost of flooding
Recent flooding is proving costly for Ballina and its surrounding areas.
ABC radio reported that Ballina Shire Council has estimated the damage repair bill would be about $600,000. This expenditure would go on roads and infrastructure.
A council spokesman told the ABC that the damage was on par with that caused by last June’s flood.
Meanwhile, falling oxygen levels in the Richmond River are leading to fish kills in the Wardell area.
The situation is not as bad as the aftermath of the 2001 flooding, which left thousands of dead fish lining the riverbank. Ultimately, the river was closed for fishing for two years.
NSW Fishing Monthly editor Tony Zann writes: “Unfortunately the flooding has also produced some significant fish kills, mainly around the Wardell area, where reports indicate more than 500 mainly flathead, whiting and bream have died in water depleted of oxygen. DPI Fisheries officers are investigating and news reports indicate that mud worms have also died, meaning that there’s almost zero oxygen from the surface to the bottom.”
Any recovery in the river’s health from 2001 is being tested by the recent flooding.
