The driest year for almost half a century has had residents talking.

Many who have lived here for years have never seen the river as low as it is today, others are having to drill bores deeper in search of water and fires are blackening hectares of bush land.

People have taken note of the parched trees appearing to perish in the absence of rain.

A drop in the aquifer has seen a slow deterioration for both native and non-native trees that have survived previous dry-spells.

Ten have been deemed unsaveable and will need to be cut down.

The issue was first raised by a Katherine resident of 40 years at an Ordinary Meeting of Council in August, who said she was particularly concerned about trees at the Katherine Showgrounds and along Victoria Highway.

Questions from the Katherine Times on whether the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, which manages all trees within Crown Land, and on the Stuart Highway, Chambers Drive and Victoria Highway road reserves, would consider rescuing trees by watering them sparked further assessments to determine their condition.

The Department contracted an arborist to investigate 38 trees on the road reserve along the Victoria Highway between Pearce Street and Murray Street on Friday, October 4.

While none were classified as dead, he found trees were suffering from drought, storm damage, and soil compaction from vehicles driving over root zones.

"Ten trees will be removed as recommended as a high priority by the arborist, as part of our commitment to public and community safety," a DIPL spokesman said.

"These trees have either regrown from old stumps and the trees structure is in a poor condition or trees which are in poor condition due to a combination of rot, termite damage, drought, storm damage, and soil compaction from vehicles driving over root zones."

Other trees will need to be pruned "to alleviate stress on the tree and its structure to immediately reduce the risk of limb failure," he said, "and mulching of root zones will also be carried out where practical."

"Mulching the root system to a depth of 10cm allows for the retention of water and nutrients in the soil, as well as reducing soil compaction. This will be beneficial for the trees and their overall health."

The Department has committed to replacing the lost trees this wet season with "hardy native trees" better suited to Katherine's extreme seasons.

"They will be planted in the wet season to ensure their roots can become well established before the next dry season," he said.

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