Wednesday, March 4, 2009
GST
Water
worry
BY SANDRA MORELLO
Email: sandra@tbw.com.au
GRANT District Council has
raised concerns over plummeting
groundwater levels in the South
East, following fears the resource
is being overused.
Council called for an immedi-
ate update from the South East
Natural Resource Management
Board (SERMB) at its meeting on
Monday as to the status of its new
water allocation plans.
It is understood the aquifer is
running dry on some properties
around Glencoe and Kalangadoo
and farmers now have to drill
down to 90m in some areas of
Coonawarra just to reach the
water table.
Before the downward spiral, The
Border Watch has been told irriga-
tors only needed to drill down 20m
to tap into the Coonawarra aquifer
and stock windmills could function
by sitting on top of the aquifer.
It is also believed some apple and
potato growers in the Kalangadoo
area are no longer able to irrigate
their valuable crops because of the
disappearing aquifer.
Grant Mayor Don Pegler told
council he was concerned that
water tables were dropping and
questioned arguments that the
WEATHER Mount Gambier Today - A few showers. 18o – full report page 27
KEEPING THE SOUTH EAST INFORMED SINCE 1861
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decline could be blamed on declin-
ing rainfall.
“Perhaps we are using too much;
it is important that we find out,”
Mr Pegler said.
The council leader, who runs
a sheep property at Kongorong,
warned yesterday any cuts to
industry must be swept in quickly
to lessen the impact to the sec-
tors.
“If it is done earlier, it will
lessen the pain,” said Mr Pegler,
who explained all water using
industries - along with forestry
- had to be included in any water
budget deliberations.
He said the water resource
underpinned many sectors in the
South East, including viticulture,
dairy and horticulture.
“These industries would not
be what they are without this
resource. We need to protect the
resource,” Mr Pegler said.
Meanwhile, Mount Gambier
irrigation company Think
Water Mount Gambier has
noticed a decline in watertables
in hotspots across the region,
including Kalangadoo, Glencoe
and Coonawarra.
Service manager Steven Lamb
said falling watertable trends
were widespread, particularly in
shallow areas.
Continued page 5
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Toxic onion
dog warning
BY ELLIE TURNER
Email: ellie@tbw.com.au
TREATING a sick canine has
prompted a Mount Gambier
veterinarian to warn the public
that onions are poisonous to
dogs.
Dr Kate Chambers from
Clarke and Associates
Veterinary Practice said
onions were highly toxic when
ingested by dogs, destroying
their red blood cells and
causing anaemia.
Dr Chambers said the animal
in question ate a quantity of
the vegetable on some pizza
around a month ago.
“It ate onion on a Tuesday
and by Saturday it had
collapsed; anaemia can cause
muscle weakness, tiredness
and breathing difficulty,” she
said.
“Around 400 grams of onion
can bring a 10kg dog to its
knees, whether eaten all in one
hit or on several occasions.”
Dr Chambers said anything
from the onion family including
shallots, spring onions and
garlic was a danger.
She also outlined three other
foods highly toxic to the canine
system.
“Dogs should not be
fed chocolate, grapes or
macadamia nuts,” she said.
“Chocolate speeds up the
heart rate and can lead to
cardiac arrest, grapes and
related foods cause kidney
failure and macadamia nuts
shut down the central nervous
system.
“If a dog ingests any of these
foods we urge the owner to
contact a vet straight away; we
can remove it from the system
or if symptoms are already
present supportive care will be
initiated.”
pOne man’s best friend had a lucky escape from doggy heaven over This care has proved effective
the weekend after eating onion on a pizza early last week. Dr Kate - the onion affected dog has
Chambers diagnosed the dog and has warned South East residents of made a full recovery and is
the danger. Picture: ELLIE TURNER. home with its family.
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