More than 40 people attended the meeting including chief executive of Wimmera CMA, Dave Brennan and Wimmera Development Association project manager Mark Fletcher.

There were community members from Horsham, Green Lake and Natimuk who were also representing recreation groups like ski and yacht groups.

Organiser Ian Ruwoldt said there was a collective frustration about the lack of recreational water for Horsham, particularly for Green Lake.

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"We haven't got enough water to operate any water clubs," he said.

"We've realised other places like Natimuk have similar issues.

"We had the opportunity for water last year, the money was there for the council to pay for it but they weren't able to supply it."

After the hour long discussion, the community members expressed their want to form a public support group and have more discussions with GWM Water.

"The pipeline has saved a lot of water and benefited a lot of other small communities which is really great and we've seen how that works," Mr Ruwoldt said.

"There is a huge mass of people here in Horsham that are paying a lot of rates and there is a lake there to be filled to be used and it's a great gateway to the Wimmera."

Libby Peucker said the community have been fighting for Green Lake for twenty years.

In 2007 they campaigned for water and got a petition with 3500 signatures with no change. In 2010 they launched a Fill The Lake campaign with another petition with 5000 signatures with no results.

"No one bothered to reply, we sent letters and the petition to ministers," she said.

"We have worked so hard to get no results.

"We keep going because we're not ready to give it up."

Many community members shared their memories of going to Green lake and what an asset it was to the area.

In a report from the Wimmera Development Association, it was found over a period of four years. In the 2018-2019 period $33.68 million was contributed to the economy via water recreation, dropping to $28.49 million in the 2019-2020 period due to issues such as fire danger, water quality and COVID-19 restrictions.

There are also the social and mental health benefits of having recreational water which have consistently been valued at around $1.5 million per annum for Wimmera Southern Mallee resident participants at the waterbodies.

"We need to push like all hell to get water there as a community," community member, Greer Dellar said.

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