The river is currently so dry that Sofala Royal Hotel owner Marty Tomkinson told the Western Advocate this week that: “If we ran out of water the business will close down”.

He also queried whether water being taken out of the river for the extensive roadworks had impacted how much water was flowing in Sofala.

The RMS spokesman said Mid-Western Regional Council was carrying out safety improvement works on Sofala and Ilford Sofala roads on behalf of the RMS.

“The council has a licence to extract water from the Turon River when it is flowing or replenishing,” he said.

“The extraction location is downstream of Sofala and has no impact on the village’s water supply.

“Water will continue to be extracted from the river, unless it stops flowing or replenishing at the current location.

“The council will continue to monitor the flow and level of the river at the extraction location.” 

The RMS spokesman said the work commenced in January and were expected to be completed in June, weather permitting.