The Winton Wetlands
Prior to the late 1960s, the area occupied by Lake Mokoan was a wetland system consisting of two main wetlands, Winton and Green Swamps and several smaller swamps including Ashmeads, Humphries, Saddlers, Taminick, Black and Lindsays Swamps.
At its prime the original wetland system of more than 3000 hectares would have provided a wide range of habitats supporting diverse plant, bird, fish and invertebrate communities.
In 1971 with the completion of the construction of a 7.5km long embankment averaging about 6m high the Winton Wetlands were inundated to create Lake Mokoan, an off river water storage designed to provide water to the Murray and Goulburn irrigation areas, with a capacity to hold 365,000ML, a surface area of around 7,880 ha and a maximum depth of 7.3m.
The decision to decommission Lake Mokoan and return it to wetland was announced by the Victorian Government in 2004 as part of the Our Water Our Future White Paper. This was the first time a major Victorian reservoir (Victoria’s fifth largest) was to be decommissioned.
In January 2005 the community based Lake Mokoan Future Land Use Steering Committee was established to assist the Victorian Government in developing a strategy for the future restoration, development and management of Lake Mokoan following its decommissioning.
Following extensive consultation conducted by the Steering Committee, the Lake Mokoan Future Land Use Strategy was completed in September 2006.
In June 2008 the Victorian Government announced its commitment to provide up to $20million for the implementation of the Future Land Use Strategy and to establish a board of management, including community representatives, to manage the Winton Wetlands and oversee the implementation of the Future Land Use Strategy.
The Winton Wetlands Reserve was officially established in August, 2010.
The Cache
Just a micro a little way along the walking track with views of the wetlands.
Hop out of the car and stretch your legs.