Her updated assessment came as nearly 5000 people attended a rally in Goolwa on Sunday to protest the building the weir and to call for immediate action to save the Lower Lakes.

Adelaide University Associate Professor David Paton, a speaker at the rally, said the weir being built was becoming more likely as no immediate action was being taken.

"Unless something miraculous happens now, the weir is a likely contender, but the notion that a weir spells the end of the Lakes is a bit excessive," he said.

"The weir is not about stopping flows to the Lower Lakes once the flows return, it is more about securing water levels and stop the salt water from going up the river and water quality deteriorating."

* Extract from a full report in Stock Journal, August 14 issue.