Goolwa Barrages
The Goolwa Barrages comprise five barrage structures in the channels separating Lake Alexandrina from the sea at the mouth of the River Murray and the Coorong in South Australia. They were constructed principally to reduce salinity levels in the lower reaches of the River Murray, Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert, but also to stabilise the river level, for both upstream irrigation and pumping.
History
Prior to the construction of the barrages, during periods of low river flow, tidal effects and the intrusion of seawater were felt up to upstream from the mouth of the River Murray, approximately as far inland as the river port at present-day Swan Reach.From the 1900s, with the advent of large irrigation schemes, landowners along the lower reaches of the river strongly urged for the construction of barrages, primarily to keep the water fresh in the lower reaches of the River Murray, as well as Lake Albert and Lake Alexandrina.
In 1931, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission authorised the construction of five barrages. Work commenced in 1935 and was completed in 1940. South Australia's Engineering and [Water Supply Department] undertook the project, with costs shared equally by the governments of South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the Commonwealth of Australia.