The State Government also will commence construction of floodways redirecting water from the Lower SE to the Upper SE.

The projects will reduce salinity and restore water to wetlands in the Upper SE.

The State Government announced in 2006 that it would go ahead with constructing a drain at Bald Hill contingent on the introduction of fresh water flows from the Lower SE to the wetlands of the Upper SE.

Two independent reviews of the proposed drain were ordered and have now been completed.

“Independent scientists have advised that if no action is taken, further degradation of the watercourse is likely to occur,” Environment and Conservation Minister Jay Weatherill said.

“The most significant risk to the watercourse is a lack of appropriate flows.

“Over 150 years this area has become a highly altered landscape and what we’re now trying to do with these new projects is replicate natural flows as best we can and remediate salinated land.”

Historically, surface water flowed from south-east to north-west towards the Coorong and drainage works in the Lower SE started about 150 years ago to open the area for agriculture and divert floodwater to the sea.

More recently drains have been constructed to remove saline groundwater, manage flood risk and divert water to key wetlands for environmental purposes.

“Unlike the old drains that went out to sea, the Bald Hill drain and the floodways will be designed and managed to return flows to wetlands,” Mr Weatherill said.

“A further objective is to return water to the Coorong.”

The scientific report made 12 recommendations.

Each of the recommendations has been carefully considered and will be addressed in the design and operation of the new system.

This includes monitoring of the surrounding floodplains, wetlands and their ecosystems to better inform management of the networks.

Mr Weatherill said he intended to travel to the SE soon to further discuss the next steps with the local community.

Legislation will be drafted to manage the entire SE drainage network to ensure better management of flows. It will be released for public consultation soon.

“I’ve asked my department to prepare further advice on how the old drains can be re-engineered or better managed to provide the best environmental outcome,” Mr Weatherill said.