Dartmouth Dam finally stops roaring, CFA cash flow slows to a trickle

A Murray-Darling Basin Authority spokesman said the Dartmouth Dam at 99.9 per cent was still spilling on Thursday, just not bursting over the spillway.

For Dartmouth townsfolk, the roar of water that equated to cash in the till came to an abrupt end.

A Country Fire Authority shed that supplied food to eager dam-watchers, partly to ease the strain on the Dartmouth Pub but mostly to raise much-need funds, has finally stopped operating.

"The roaring stopped yesterday," said Lorrae Smyth, who manages the Dartmouth Post Office and General Store and organised the CFA food shed.

"It's been fantastic for the town but there's a mixture of sadness and relief for the town - we're all exhausted.

"We had over 60 volunteers helping us with what we called the 'overflow food'. We're absolutely stunned and rapt with the outcome that those three community groups did so well to make that sort of money in such a short period."

Ms Smyth said the shed was lapping at the magic figure of $100,000 for the community good.

"We were only doing it because of the people who were coming up to see the dam but since that's quietened down, and because the CFA have to get ready for the bushfire season, they needed their shed back," Ms Smyth said.

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"The gross figure was $91,000 since September but that gets split evenly between three groups - the Dartmouth Progress Association, the Dartmouth Anglers' Club and the CFA.

"The net figure was around $56,000 so it's about $18,000 for each group."

During the spill in 1996, water flowed over the dam wall from September 30 reaching a peak flow of 19,600 megalitres per day on October 4.

This year the dam broke full supply level on September 22 when water first began flowing over the spillway.

"The maximum level reached at the dam was around 487 metres above sea level on November 16," an MDBA spokesman said.

"That equates to 102.2 per cent full. At that time the peak flow occurred over the spillway of about 20,000 megalitres a day."

Ms Smyth said "it was good while it lasted" but now "it's time for a rest".

"We were overrun in September, October and most of November," she said.

"We needed to stop anyway, everyone was exhausted and we were running out of people.

"We'll have a bit of a break now."

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