Levees built to protect WA's biggest food bowl have made flooding worse, according to farmers
Growers in Carnarvon say flood levees redirected water onto farms after Cyclone Narelle, adding to crop and irrigation losses in one of Western Australia’s main fruit and vegetable regions.
Farmers in Carnarvon say levees built to reduce flood damage have instead worsened inundation on some properties in one of Western Australia’s most important food-growing districts. ABC reports that Carnarvon, roughly 900 kilometres north of Perth, produces about 80 percent of the state’s fresh fruit and vegetables, making the latest damage a significant issue for regional supply.
The dispute intensified after Cyclone Narelle in March. While the eye of the storm passed about 50 kilometres to the north-east of the town and spared Carnarvon the worst direct wind damage, heavy inland rain filled tributaries and pushed water into the Gascoyne River. The river is often dry on the surface, with underground flows used for irrigation, but after major rain it can turn quickly into a destructive torrent across farms and plantations.
Farmer Kevin Sullivan said he lost a pumpkin crop and suffered thousands of dollars in irrigation damage as debris swept through his mango plantation. His farm sits downstream from levees built in 2015 after a major 2010 flood. Sullivan argues that as more levees were added upstream and on the south side of the river, water levels on downstream properties rose because the flow was pushed harder in one direction.
Repeated flood losses have already changed what local growers plant. Sullivan said he had gradually reduced mixed crops and shifted toward mangoes because trees survive flooding better than many ground crops, but after the latest event he does not expect to plant ground crops again. Other families have fewer options. Giang Tran’s farm, run by a family that migrated from Vietnam in 1998, lost chilli, capsicum and watermelon seedlings, with some fields washed out and others still too waterlogged to assess safely.
Phil Frzop, president of the Carnarvon Growers Association, said about one third of member growers were affected and early estimates put the damage bill at around 25 million dollars. He argued that what should have remained a river event became a flood event for many farms. That view does not mean levees are useless. University of Sydney engineer Conrad Wasko said levees are valuable flood tools, but they also narrow the same volume of water into a smaller space, which can accelerate and funnel it, while creating a false sense of security.
Western Australia Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said the Carnarvon levee system performed generally in line with modelling, while acknowledging that parts of the north-west did flood and that properties built on the flood plain remain vulnerable to periodic natural events. Government agencies are now assessing the impact of Cyclone Narelle with affected landholders. Growers say the longer-term question is no longer just repair, but whether the district needs stronger protection, compensation, or even buyback options for the farms that keep being hit.