Fixed the flooded fence
Our shiny new electric fence, completed in February 2022. In October 2022, the Murray River flood approached.
Way back in October 2022, the Murray River flood started to lap at the bottom of our fence. It’s an electric fence so we disconnected the bottom hot wire in low-lying sections thinking that would be enough. But the water kept rising higher and higher. Entire stretches of the fence went underwater. A tree fell on one part. And as the flood water receded, thick grass and shrubs grew up and through the fence wires.
All up our fence was out of action for four months. But with a bit of work, and some clever trickery and mods by Phil, the fence is electrified again. We are back in business!
Here’s what it looked like in pictures. Each of these lake photos contains a hidden fence …: (click on the images to see them full size)
Tree down in November …Finally fixed in March with no damage to the fence! (and yes, Phil did use a chainsaw, not just the axe!)
Fencing in waders was an entirely new experience! Even in April 2023, parts of the fence are still underwater. Phil had to cut and insulate the very top wire in one section to carry electricity to complete the circuit. That silver thing is my least favorite fencing tool. Straining up a fence with it is a terrifying experience.
Luckily, the entire 13km of fence didn’t need slashing and brush-cutting when the water receded, just most of it. A good excuse for a picnic along the fence:
Our nice shiny fence is now dirty but otherwise unharmed. We didn’t have any trouble with debris getting caught in the fence, and all the strainer posts stayed in the ground. I reckon it would have been a very different story for a ring-lock or netting fence. We are really happy with how resilient to flooding the Weston fence design is.
And with the modifications we’ve made, we’ll be much quicker to electrify the fence after the next big flood!