Farm dams play a critical role in water management in the Hills and Fleurieu – irrigation, biodiversity, agriculture, firefighting, livestock and domestic applications all depend on their health and reliability.

Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu is the recipient of a $200,000 boost in the 2024-25 round of the Landscape Priorities Fund (LPF) to coordinate the ‘Building landscape resilience with high-performing dams’ project over the next 12 months.

Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu’s Manager Landscape Operations Ben Della Torre explains more about the project and how it will help land managers approach best practice dam safety and maintenance.

“Dams are a critical and finite asset for those who have them, but they do degrade over time and require ongoing maintenance. 

“This maintenance ensures they remain operational and prevents them causing damage to people, property, and the natural environment. When they are well managed and cared for, they can provide many benefits.

“A key function of Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu, and particularly our new Stewardship Program, is to build relationships with landholders to help them embrace their role in caring for land, water and nature. 

“This project will help us build on those relationships to provide targeted education and advice in regard to farm dam safety and maintenance. 

“While it is the landholder’s responsibility to maintain their dam, providing information and advice about inspections and maintenance can help prevent

future dam failures,” he says.

Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu plans to offer interactive workshops, property visits, demonstration sites, electronic and printed information guides, and incentive funding to eligible landholders to help them manage their dams.

“The impacts associated with dam failure can be costly, wasteful and inconvenient, so prevention is always better than cure,” Mr Della Torre says.

Additional funding has been awarded to Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu for cross-regional projects from the Landscape Priorities Fund.

These include Now or never – controlling feral deer and goats project; and Empowering land managers to optimise soil health for productivity and environmental outcomes.

The Landscape Priorities Fund provides annual grants for the state’s landscape boards, who work in partnership with other organisations, groups and individuals to invest in large-scale integrated landscape management projects.

The latest round of the LPF sees $4.9 million spent on 14 projects that aim to better manage land and improve biodiversity throughout South Australia.

For more information visit the website.