BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
ISSUE 1027 FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017
FUTURE DRY Photo: ANDREW PERRYMAN
By JOEL PETERSON
BENDIGO’S demand for water may more than double in the next 50 years and $100 million could be invested to upgrade the Goldfields Superpipe under a Coliban Water plan for the future requirements of its system. Coliban Water’s 2017 Urban Water Strategy says a rapidly growing population will significantly drive up demand for water but the ongoing effects of climate change could dramatically reduce supply. The organisation is obliged by government to produce the report
Coliban plans for demand spike
every five years, but says this is the most comprehensive of its type that has been undertaken. It forecasts Bendigo’s urban water demand skyrocketing 133 per cent over the next 50 years, from 11,173 megalitres per year to up to 26,048 ML/year. Under a high climate change scenario, which would see higher average temperatures and less rain flowing into the system, the report states demand could be as much as
32,415 ML/year in Bendigo alone. That adds up to a potential water shortfall of 15,300ML across Coliban’s nine systems in 2040 and as much as 37,400ML in 2065. Coliban estimates the number of water connections will in the same time frame grow by over 62,000 to just shy of 110,000 connections in just its northern system – which services Bendigo. “The sheer growth of Bendigo is really the driver for a lot of what
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might need to happen in the future,” Coliban’s raw water supply manager Steve Healy said. That growth, combined with a climate that could be on average 2.4 degrees warmer in 2065 and far more erratic, presents no shortages of challenges for the organisation. Planning for drought is key among the plan with infrastructure investment and diversifying the ways in which Coliban sources its water listed as priorities.
Included in the possible projects is a $100m upgrade of the Goldfields Superpipe, which could involve duplicating the existing pipeline or upgrading pumps. “That’s effectively a base case. Not to say that won’t happen, but it will be a point of comparison for alternatives to ensure that supply,” Mr Healy said. A $27million connection from Bendigo to Castlemaine, which Coliban was close to constructing last year also remains on the table, effectively connecting Castlemaine and Kyneton to supplies at Lake Eppalock. Continued Page 7
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