Despite the Brigade being called Lake Mundi, the supply of water for Tanker refilling is extremely limited.
Lake Mundi is the last CFA outpost in south west Victoria when heading towards Penola in South Australia on the Casterton - Penola Road.
After the fires in the Lake Mundi area early last year a Fire Access Road Subsidy Scheme (FARSS) application was made to Glenelg Shire for an electric pump and water tank to be installed at Lake Mundi Fire Station.
At the same time Forest Trust Forest Industry Brigade (FIB) also saw the need for a water supply to be located at the Fire Station and provided two 25000 litre water tanks which were installed late in 2013.
The Glenelg Shire / CFA FARSS subsidy enabled a 500 litre per minute electric pump to be supplied and installed in the Fire Station and the efforts of the Lake Mundi members saw the relocation of a boundary fence on the Fire Station property to house the tanks and the members supplied their labour to connect the tanks to a bore on the property of Lindsay Brigade Secretary / Strathdownie Group Secretary Andrew Hill to keep the tanks full and not reliant on rainfall.
As the Lake Mundi Brigade area is located in sandstone country the availability of dams in the area is very limited and despite being called Lake Mundi, the lake is dry and not available as a reliable water supply.
There are numerous bores in the area but the logistics of obtaining water from them prevents them from being a short term practical option when the water is most needed. Trucking in water has been used in the past but the distance from a reticulated supply makes for a slow turnaround time and the provision of a local water supply was necessary.
Water can be draughted from the tanks when the inevitable power failure occurs on the sort of days that make this water supply critical.
Many thanks to those who were involved in the project (Forest Trust FIB, Glenelg Shire, Lake Mundi Brigade and District 4 HQ). The benefits will be evident the next time that the water is needed in a hurry.
Author: Brian Brady