WATER authority, GHCMA, is alleging the mouth of the Surry River at Narrawong was illegally opened by hand on Wednesday evening ahead of heavy rains.

“The illegal opening of the river mouth was confirmed through evidence of a small (shovel-width) channel being dug in the sand bar between the sea and the river,” Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (GHCMA) chief executive Adam Bester said.