Long Island Marina owner Bob Hall took little comfort in news the South Australian Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC) had commissioned a private geotechnical firm to assess riverbanks in the Murraylands during the lead up to summer.

Mr Hall’s marina, in Murray Bridge, was the site of a major riverbank collapse in February.

The phenomenon has since been linked to low water levels.

“The Government has publically addressed the situation and said we can expect 500 to 800 millimetres less water than last summer,” he said.

“On February 4 when it (the riverbank) broke off water was at an all-time low then.

“In this situation here we’re looking at an absolute disaster.”

Geotechnical engineers hired by DWLBC were surveying riverbanks at five sites throughout the Murraylands last week.

DWLBC River Murray works and measures project leader Dan Croucher said the engineers would provide the department with a series of reports in the next month with information on the level of risk to be passed on to affected property owners.

“We’re not expecting to hear that there is a silver bullet engineering solution to this,” Mr Croucher said.

“The places we’re immediately concerned about are Caloote and Sturt Reserve but that doesn’t guarantee that the others aren’t in danger.”