Barrier Daily Truth

Better wet than dry, says farming family

Saturday, 18th February, 2012

By Emily Roberts

Domenic and his nephew Paul D’Ettorre live on neighboring properties outside Menindee where they grow grapes.

The floodwaters coming down won’t hurt Domenic’s crops too severely because most of it was picked in December and grapes can survive in water for a couple of months.

“Crops can be under water as long, as it dries out,” Domenic said.

“They are pretty tough but if it is stone fruit, forget it.”

Domenic spent yesterday morning building up his levee bank to protect his crops.

“I’ve lived here since 1948 and I saw it all.

“It’s coming and there is not much you can do. I won’t ever leave. It’s too late now.

“Water and fire are the two worst enemies you can have. This country is very good. It can make you laugh or it can make you cry.”

Nephew Paul said the property next to his lost a levee on Wednesday night.

“We will lose a levee as well but it was one that was loaded up with salt water in 2001,” he said.

“If the water is as close as it was in the 1976 flood, we can’t keep it out; we will have to do damage control.

“We will wait for the water to recede and pump it out as fast as we can. It could be a benefit if it drains the salt out, but that’s only if I knew how it would pan out.”

He said he has to watch the levee banks twice a day because the water can rise quickly.

“It will be three to four weeks before water comes down, then another big lot will come down after that.

“We will still have monsoon troughs right up until May.”

Paul said when floodwater arrives it always cuts a new path and because the lakes are still full from the last flows the water will go further down.

But Domenic and Paul agreed that a flood was better than a drought.