Limestone Coast's famous sinkholes and other diving spots see water levels drop amid drought

Australia Broadcast Center

06-05-2025

The owner of one of the Limestone Coast's most popular diving spots has joined a world-famous cave diver in calling for more action to be taken to preserve water levels in the region's sinkholes and wetlands.
The concerns raised by Kilsby Sinkhole owner Graham Kilsby and cave diver Richard Harris come after
Their concerns are also amid
Mr Kilsby's family has had a sheep farm at Moorak, just south of Mount Gambier, for more than 130 years and they also offer diving and snorkelling tours at the Kilsby Sinkhole on their property.
Sinkhole owner Graham Kilsby with a water marker used to measure the water level before irrigation began.
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ABC South East SA: Josh Brine
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Mr Kilsby said the water level at the sinkhole has fallen 4.5 metres since 2000 to a record low, including more than 1.5m since Christmas which he attributed to a lack of rain.
"We've decided that we're going to completely remove irrigation from the farming property over the next three years," Mr Kilsby said.
"It is an awfully big step and I wouldn't expect everyone to give that consideration.
"
I just believe that what we're doing [as a region] isn't sustainable.
"
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Damage hurting tourism
The nearby
Both had been known for their clear water and vibrant aquatic plant life.
"Piccaninnie Ponds was one of the best dive sites in Australia. People across the world came there to dive and now it's just a muddy hole," Mr Kilsby said.
The Kilsby Sinkhole is one of the more accessible diving spots near Mount Gambier.
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ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham
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"Ewens Ponds has got plant life growing at depths where it doesn't grow anywhere else in the world.
"Tourism is important, but I think that this is a bigger picture.
"It's about everyone in this region — we all rely in same way on the water that's beneath us — we really need to start looking at what we're doing."
'System has essentially died'
Dr Harris
He was later named Australian of the Year and is now South Australia's lieutenant governor.
He has been cave diving around Mount Gambier since 1986.
Richard Harris is a regular visitor to the Limestone Coast.
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ABC News: Tony Hill
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With cooperation from the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service he produced a video showing the situation at Piccaninnie Ponds.
"The whole system has essentially died," Dr Harris said.
"
It really looks like a desert landscape whereas before it looked like a tropical jungle or an underwater paradise.
"
Water allocations being decided
The Limestone Coast Landscape Board began work to update the
Dr Harris said while it was not possible to "tell everyone to stop work and down tools", if the aquifer levels got too low "everyone will suffer".
"I feel that some very tough decisions are going to have to be made by the landscape board, which is primarily responsible for the water allocation plan," he said.
"I think it's time for all these industries that use the groundwater and farm that land to start to think about how we're going to have to adapt to this changing climate, and maybe farm and use the land differently in the future."
The Piccaninnie Ponds are in South Australia's far south-east.
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Supplied: Alyssa G
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SA Dairyfarmers Association chief executive Andrew Curtis said it was not clear what was causing the poor water quality in the Piccaninnie Ponds and it should not be "simply attributed to agricultural practice".
He said the environment, food production and supplying water for the community should be considered equally when allocating water.
"The challenge for the landscape board is to consider all of those issues in working with a limited resource," he said.
"As we can see during this drought we just don't have unlimited water. So the challenge is the allocation of it."
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