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AAP
AAP
Environment
Tim Dornin

Murray flooding threatens SA highway

There are concerns Murray River flood waters in South Australia could cut the Princes Highway. (Tim Dornin/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Murray River flooding is threatening to cut the Princes Highway, the main road to South Australia's southeast.

High water levels flowing into Lake Albert, about two hours south of Adelaide, may result in the highway becoming inundated in low-lying areas near Meningie.

A 60km/h speed limit has been imposed with plans for a detour along the Dukes Highway should the Princes Highway be impacted.

Concerns for the road grew on Thursday as the peak in river flows reached SA's Lower Lakes.

This has also triggered concerns for further flooding of local properties over the weekend when a low-pressure weather system sweeps through, increasing wave action.

With the high water mark reaching the lakes, Emergency Service Minister Joe Szakacs said the Murray's peak had now passed all major communities along the waterway.

"While it's pleasing to see the peak edge closer to the ocean, a Flood Emergency Warning for the entire river in SA remains in place and I urge people to continue to take care," he said.

Further upstream, flows across the SA border have fallen to about 135 gigalitres a day, down from a high of more than 190 GL.

They are expected to drop to about 60 GL a day by the end of January.

So far the bulk of the state's levee system has held up, especially those protecting major assets including one at Renmark, built near the local hospital, and another at Mannum, protecting businesses on the main street.

There have been 68 catastrophic levee failures and 168 major problems but most have been with structures protecting agricultural lands.

The State Emergency Service will continue daily inspections across the levee network paying particular attention to those at Woods Point, Monteith, Jervois and River Glen.

Mr Szakacs said some concerns remained for the integrity of major levees.

"By no stretch are we out of the woods. These levees continue to be under load," he said.

"There remains small but not insignificant risks about scarring, cracking and failing."

Also on Thursday, Primary Industries officials closed fishing for pippies, a type of shellfish, from the Murray mouth to Middleton Point.

The move follows the detection of E Coli bacteria during testing, rendering them unsafe for human consumption.

Pippies or cockles can still be taken if just used as bait.

While in the first easing of restrictions, people can now launch boats downstream from Paringa Bridge in the state's Riverland to allow them to inspect riverside properties.

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