River Murray floodwaters wiped out Peter Singh's Renmark vineyard late last year — and now he is faced with the difficult question of what to do next: rebuild or sell?
In December his vineyard went underwater, and now the water has receded, he is left with row after row of dead vines.
"We lost everything," he said.
"We've got no income."
But Mr Singh said the ongoing costs, including water and rates, were still the same.
"We don't pay the sprays because we couldn't get into them, we don't pay the harvester, but we don't get no grapes either," he said.
He feared the mounting recovery cost would last for the next three years.
"We've got to dig out more than 60–70 per cent of our vineyard to replant it — if I replant it," he said.
"[I'm] going through ideas of doing something else."
He has family and a new takeaway store keeping him in town, but he suspected other home and business owners along the River Murray would also be weighing up their future, potentially impacting on the life and economy of the towns along it.
"That's a flow-on effect – the towns will get empty, the shops will get empty," he said.
Industry group Riverland Wine said while the number of growers who experienced flooding was small, the damage they had suffered to their vines was catastrophic.
Executive officer Lyndall Rowe said the wider industry — one of Australia's biggest wine growing regions — was struggling with the wet climate impacting yields, and the floods affecting tourism.
"Approximately half of our members have small holdings and rely on off-farm income and predominantly tourism, such as cellar doors and accommodation, which are all affected," she told the SA Country Hour.
Accommodation sector optimistic
David Hartley runs River Shack Rentals – a company that manages dozens of rentals along the river – and said the major clean-up needed after the floods would cause some people to sell, but the vast majority of his clients wanted to stay.
"There's such a long list of people that want to buy riverfront properties still that there'll be a quick turnover and it won't be an issue at all," he said.
"It's not like it's going to affect the towns I don't think."
About 70 of the properties Mr Hartley manages were either flooded or along roads cut off by the floods, preventing people from staying in them over the peak summer period.
He said the loss of income to his clients would have been in excess of $1 million.
On top of that, he expected about 20 of the homes would need to be completely bulldozed.
Kym Temby's Mannum holiday home was largely spared by the floodwaters, but he still lost about $30,000 in cancelled bookings.
"We've lost six months really and it was the six months where 80 per cent [or] 90 per cent of the money is actually made," he said.
Despite this, rising insurance costs, and challenges getting flood cover, he had no plans to sell, instead hoping the property would stay in the family for generations.
Houseboat operator Charlotte Looyestyn was equally resolute, despite the terrible summer.
"It's a beautiful part of the world and we have an amazing team and we're all really resilient so onwards and upwards," she said.
Her company's new Mannum office was badly hit by the flood, plus they lost income from no houseboat bookings.
But she said already the future was beginning to look brighter, with April already mostly booked out.
