Lake Mokoan was an artificial lake in northern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, roughly 7 km north-east of

Benalla Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822. It is the administrative centr ...

. It was created by diverting water from the Broken River and Hollands Creek into Winton and Green swamps. Construction began in the late 1960s and was completed in 1971. Hundreds of thousands of trees within the swamp soon died across the lake and surrounding plains, killed by the flooding of the former swampland. The large, shallow lake had a very high surface area to volume ratio, resulting in extreme water loss through evaporation, and there were frequent toxic

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompas ...

s requiring regular closures for recreation activities and causing livestock to become ill. Although a locally popular watersports destination, the Victorian government decided to decommission the canals and lake to restore the landscape to a more natural wetland and woodland ecosystem. The restoration effort is expected to take at least 100 years. Planning for the decommissioning began in 2004 and work started in 2009. Decommissioning the lake was expected to allow the rebalancing of 44 gigalitres of water per year to the Broken,

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

, Snowy and

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

rivers and irrigation network, with environmental and economic benefits to both upstream and downstream areas. Instead of evaporating away at Lake Mokoan, the saved water would be redirected or pumped overland from the upstream Lake Nillahcootie and Lake Eildon, 25 gigalitres of the lake would be released into the Murray River system, and another 20 gigalitres into the

Snowy River The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...

. In 2010 Lake Mokoan site was reformed into the Winton Wetlands Reserve, and managed by a Local Committee of Management. The Committee is tasked with construction of infrastructure, developing tourism and the restoration the landscape. To date, the renewal has resulted in a Visitor Centre and cafe, interpretive information signs, four campgrounds, picnic areas, public toilet blocks, 60 km of roads, bush walks, 30 km of cycling trails, and artworks celebrating the landscape and its history, have been provided. Camping at official campgrounds is available and boating, fishing is permitted. Environmental restoration is progressing, averaging 200 hectares per year, and plants regenerating and wildlife populations are increasing on the site.

References

Lakes of Victoria (Australia) Goulburn Broken catchment Rivers of Hume (region) {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub