Council has been working with the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority since 2014 to allow water skiing at the Horsham Weir Pool.

Council will need to lodge an application with Maritime Safety Victoria before any formal rule changes can be made.

At a council meeting on Monday night, technical services director John Martin said there was a number of issues council was working through.

Natimuk Water Ski Club had previously suggested council open the river to them for skiing from September to April for two nights a week and one day on a weekend.

The club suggested the river would be used between Apex Island and the Wimmera River bridge, with training sessions on week nights and competitions at the weekend.

Mr Martin said there were Maritime Safety Victoria requirements that stated a river had to be open on an equitable basis.

“We can’t say it’s only open for just one group,” he said.

“We are working with the ski club to increase the use of the river.

“We also need to still allow other uses at the river such as canoeing. We are trying to get a balance of river access for a range of users.”

Mr Martin said further work was still required with other agencies, such as the Wimmera CMA and the Barengi Gadjin Land Council.

“We will get there in steps and hopefully we can get some good shared use in place,” he said.

Cr David Grimble said it was important there was equitable use of the river.

“At the moment, we are in a position of abundant recreational water in the region, with Green Lake and Taylors Lake both quite full,” he said.

“It’s important we get these guidelines right while we have an abundance of water, because what will happen with Green Lake doesn’t have useful water anymore?

“People will look to opportunities like the weir pool.

“Having a policy that outlines how we manage equitable use of the river is important.

“The last thing we want is the community arguing over the same resource.”

Mayor Pam Clarke said shared use was a big issue for the river.

“You couldn’t have open slather for any speedboat that wants to go in,” she said.

“It’s quite a narrow river and it needs to be controlled – it could be dangerous if it’s not managed properly.”

Cr Clarke said the club wanted to use the lake for slalom skiing.

“Slalom skiing on a river is different to a lake – it’s a specialised skill and to train for competitions, they need to do it on the river,” she said.