Dredging begins again at Murray Mouth

Dredging

Dredging of the Murray Mouth resumes today for the first time in since the 2022/23 floods to help protect the health of South Australia’s Lower Lakes and Coorong.

Photo courtesy of Maritime Constructions

While the floods and high midyear flows combined to reduce the need for dredging, recent dry weather means sand has started to again build up at the Murray Mouth.

With flow volumes stabilising over recent months, continued assessments of sand accumulation at the Murray Mouth have determined the need to restart dredging.

Previously undertaken by two small dredges, the restarted operations will now use one larger dredge currently located at Tauwitchere Barrage.

It is estimated that more than 14 million cubic meters of sand has been removed at the Murray Mouth since 2002.