Yesterday I found myself in the thick of drought-ravaged central Victoria. A friend called on me to help re-sheet the roof a a tin shed on a small farm in Malsmbury. The view from atop the shed, while spectacular, was a sobering reminder that we are the middle of a drought. The banks of a sizeable catchment area had receded so severely that half the dam was a muddy bog. In stark comparison, the Mt Macedon region that we passed through seemed like a green oasis in the middle of a desert. I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t bring my camera to the job!

The scene of the shallow dam conjured memories of a tiny town called Glenmaggie just south of the Victorian Alpine Region. It was here that the same friend and I arrived on a job in March to find a derelict caravan park, which while populated with shiny caravans, kids bikes and barbeques, was completely devoid of human life. The park is set beside the now dying Lake Glenmaggie, which I imagine is a shadow of its former self as a vibrant water-skiing destination. The banks had gone so far inland I had to strain my eyes to see. Even more disturbing was the Glenmaggie Boating Club, which backed onto a river grassy valley! This one poor town that has been given the rough end of the stick, but is exactly the sort of community I am raising money for through Fill The Dams.

Any readers from Glenmaggie out there?

On site matters, daily readership is increasing steadily and it looks like the message is beginning to trickle through. A quick check of site statistics reveals that Fill The Dams is ranked first in Google for the following search terms: “australian water restrictions colour”, “blog australia water” and “newspaper articles on australia’s water restrictions”. Also, it comes up 2nd and 3rd for “Australian Water Crisis Blog”, “how do we solve australia’s drought problem” and “answers to Australia’s water crisis”. All good signs.

I you have a blog please share some link love with Fill The Dams and I’ll give you a mention or blogroll position in return. This blog has the “DoFollow” plug-in installed, which means a link on this site will be recognised by Google’s PageRank algorithm (which in turn will boost your Google ranking). Also, I am still eagerly awaiting the first contribution from an organisation/business. If you know any green-thinking marketers or small business owners please try to sell the Fill The Dams concept to them. With ever-increasing site visitors, those that contribute early will gain considerable exposure as environmentally conscious organisations.