The reservoir is now at eight per cent capacity, only 18 months after the state government topped it up with 5000 megalitres

A lobby group has now launched an online petition calling on the state government and the Victorian Environmental Water Holder to act.

Toolondo spokesman Geoff Stock said the situation was now critical.

“If we don’t get an input of water in the next six to eight weeks, I am 1000 per cent sure the lake will go dry,” he said.

“If we aren’t going to get any water while it is raining like this, then we have no hope when the weather warms up.

“It’s at a critical point now.

“The lake is only four feet deep and if it was summer, all the fish would be dead within a week.”

A Facebook page aimed at saving the reservoir has also received a surge in members.

“Our Facebook membership had peaked at 2400 people previously, but it has now grown to about 5000,” he said.

“We’ve doubled our membership in less than a week and have a whole lot of new people on board.”

Mr Stock said if it rain enough over the next few months, the trigger point at Rocklands Reservoir might be reached, which would allow water to flow into Toolondo.

“Rocklands needs to be at 160,000 megalitres though and at the moment it’s only about 45,000, so there is still heaps to go,” he said.

“It’s crazy that governing bodies allowed Toolondo to get to this stage.”

Mr Stock said residents and anglers had received mixed messaures from politicians.

He said when the state government put water in the reservoir, Mr Andrews made a commitment to ensure recreational fishing continued in Toolondo.

Mr Andrews also set up an advisory group, with the aim of trying to find a way to ensure the reservoir’s long-term viability. 

However, the group was since disbanded.

Mr Stock said the Victorian Environmental Water Holder had also said Toolondo was less of an environmental priority compared with the Wimmera and Glenelg rivers.

“Toolondo is so diverse,” he said.

“The thing that sets Toolondo apart from everything else, is that it is on a sand basin so the water is crystal clear.

“All the other rivers and main lakes in the region are on a clay basin, which creates muddy water.

“The uniformity of depth in Toolondo is also amazing – it’s perfectly flat.

“But politicians don’t understand what they are dealing with and just see it as a hole in the ground with water.”

Mr Stock said people could go to change.org to sign the petition.