Goulburn River
River banks of the Goulburn River
Middle reaches of the Goulburn River in Seymour
Template: Infobox River / Obsolete
The Goulburn River is a river in the Australian state of Victoria. The source of the river lies on the western edge of the Snowy Mountains on the eastern slopes of Mount Matlock at Woods Point. The upper course is dammed to Lake Eildon, which is used for irrigation. Most of the river water at the Goulburn Weir at Nagambie and Waranga Basin, another reservoir derived. Shortly before Echuca Goulburn River flows into the Murray River.
The plains of northern Victoria, which flows through the river between Eildon and its mouth, are very fertile farm land, but the need of irrigation. The river was named after the British politician Henry Goulburn.
The main tributaries ( with its mouth height ) are:
- Black River - 479 m
- Jamieson River - 294 m
- Howqua River - 265 m
- Big River - 260 m
- Delatite River - 259 m
- Rubicon River - 200 m
- Acheron River - 190 m
- Yea River - 162 m
- Broken River - 118 m
Most of the river water is diverted for irrigation and the river itself is highly regulated, which greatly affected the ecosystem. Since the last few years have included in Australia's driest since records began, this ecosystem has been even more stressed.
Because of these interventions in nature, there was great controversy over the construction of the north-south pipeline, which is derived annually 70 million cubic meters of water into the drinking water supply for Melbourne. Some people argue, however, that all the water that is to be routed to Melbourne, would be saved by improving irrigation systems in the basin of the Goulburn River.
In June 2008, the Murray -Darling Basin Commission presented a report on the state of the Murray -Darling basin in which the Goulburn River and the Murrumbidgee River are described as being in very bad ecological status. Also, the stock of fish in both rivers should be severely depleted.