Have you noticed the River Torrens / Karrawirra Pari changing a lot lately? Read on to learn why its dry and when you’ll likely see the river flowing again.
At the end of last year, the River Torrens was flowing nicely, but earlier this year, it was pretty much a trickle with many dry spots. And now? Well, there’s some water in it again. It’s actually normal for the river levels to rise and fall with the seasons.
But, if you're struggling to keep track of all the changes, don’t worry — we’re here to give you a clearer picture of what’s been happening to Adelaide’s 85 kilometre River Torrens in recent months and what we expect to happen next.
What’s the River Torrens looking like right now?
While parts of the River Torrens are still pretty dry, we’ve seen a bit of a change in recent weeks with a little bit of rain.
There’s now water in some areas that were previously dry, which is a welcome sight, but we need a lot more rain.
Hang on! If you go to the Torrens in the city, you can still see lots of water!
It can be confusing if you go to the section of the River Torrens in the city, known as Torrens Lake, as it is full of water.
This is because this section has been highly modified. In other words, the lake was dug out and the city weir, which was built in the late 1800s (although back then it was a much simpler timber structure than what is there today) to capture water in this central part of the river.
This means there is almost always water in Torrens Lake – which is great for the activities such as rowing or the paddle boats – but not a great representation of how water would naturally move through the system.
Is this the first time the river has been this dry?
No, this is part of a pretty standard cycle, however there is no doubt this current dry period is at the extreme end of the scale. Don’t believe us? Okay, it might be a ‘pics or it didn’t happen’ situation.
Check out this pic of the Torrens around Lockleys a few years ago in 2019:
The good news is that our river is pretty resilient.
Dry and hot conditions are nothing new across South Australia. So our state’s ecosystem has learnt to adapt.
We, at Green Adelaide, have also helped with programs like the Urban River Torrens Recovery Project to remove weeds and plant natives that help the river cope with the heat.
What’s the impact on our wildlife?
Many wildlife species that call the river home have also become resilient to dry conditions.
A silver-lining to the low levels of the river is that most of our native fish are surviving, while invasive species like European carp are not
This was proved recently when along the western-end of the Torrens (aka Breakout Creek) where carp were struggling with some dying, but there are very few reports of native fish deaths. Some native fish even burrow into the mud to wait until the water returns. If the dry conditions continue for a significant length of time however, and the river continues to contract, even our natives may struggle to cope.
The low levels have also meant birds like dotterels who would usually not be seen at the Torrens have been feeding at the newly created mudflats on the bed of the river which has been an exciting sight for birdwatchers!
When will the Torrens have more water again?
It’s been a dry summer for our river, there’s no denying that and we could certainly do with some more rain!
The good news is winter is nearly here and hopefully some more rain is just around the corner! This could go a long way to increasing the levels of the Torrens.
In the meantime, we encourage you to get out and explore the Torrens as it is, because if we can’t appreciate the Torrens at its lows, we don’t deserve it at its highs! You might even spot something special – from rare dotterels to the elusive Rakali.
Wanna learn more about the Torrens?
You can learn and find out more about the Torrens by visiting our Torrens Hub.
It includes tips on where to visit, projects underway and the common fish, birds and animals you’ll spot, plus much more.