Hydro Tasmania, Marine and Safety Tasmania and the Inland Fisheries Service are warning Tasmanians to avoid inland boating during the current flooding and extreme weather.

Many of Hydro Tasmania’s lakes are rising rapidly or already spilling. Some have reached record high levels (refer to http://www.hydro.com.au/water/lake-levels for current lake levels).

Hydro Tasmania, MAST and the IFS have issued the following warnings and reminders:

• Boaters must particularly avoid Hydro Tasmania lakes that are currently full and spilling over dam walls. There is an extreme risk of boats getting catastrophically sucked into the spillway;
• Always adhere to exclusion zones (indicated by signs and / or buoy lines);
• Warning signs and exclusion zone buoy lines may not be visible due to inundation or flood damage;
• There’s an increased risk of strong currents, floating debris and unexpected navigation hazards;
• Access roads, launching ramps, pontoons and exclusion buoy lines may currently be underwater;
• Boating infrastructure may be accessible but damaged by high levels and flows.

There’s more safety and navigation information at http://www.mast.tas.gov.au/.