The Victorian Minister for Water Lisa Neville has conceded the poor state of the Curdies River, hinting the waterway could be included in a pilot project to fight the spread of blue green algae.
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The Curdies estuary has been devastated by an algal bloom over the past two months, with anoxic, toxic conditions killing tens of thousands of fish and potentially setting the river ecosystem back decades.
Victorian MP for Polwarth Richard Riordan met with locals in Peterborough and brought their concerns to parliament, asking what the Andrews Government would do about the crisis.
In response, Ms Neville said the Curdies would "be considered in a pilot study to better understand water quality risks and inform improved management programs to minimise the adverse impacts of future blue green algae events".
Ms Neville mentioned the work the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority was doing in the Curdies, including constructing fencing, and working with farmers on weed control and revegetation, but she admitted the current efforts weren't cutting it.
"I acknowledge that improved water quality management for the Curdies River in the future is needed and I have instructed my department to work with all relevant stakeholders to investigate options to manage the upstream catchment to improve water quality," she said.
Regarding Ms Neville's announcement, Mr Riordan said "that's political speak for 'we might have a look at it'".
"The way we move it from 'might' to 'will', is to keep the pressure up and I'm putting together a petition to do that," he said.
"That's a small concession in that response to my questions, but the community will ensure that pressure is kept up."
Mr Riordan said the CCMA was in a difficult position because there simply wasn't enough funding flowing through. "We've spent 100 years making the problem, so it will take time and effort to fix," he said.
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