ountry News Co
Water Talk Reaching Australia ’s richest agricultural region
E 12-PAUG RE FEAnTe 2015 Ju
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A Murray Valley company is growing its overseas market — page 7 Hands off our water, irrigators say — page 3 | Seen at the water expo — pages 10 and 11
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PAGE 2—‘Water Talk’, June, 2015
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A lack of commitment othing to see here, keep walking’’, ‘‘N the Federal Government appears to be saying about speculation the
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder has missed out on funding. National Irrigators’ Council’s chief executive officer Tom Chesson said the failure to fund the Commonwealth water agencies, including the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, beyond the 2016-17 forward estimates sent a poor message to Murray-Darling Basin communities about the Commonwealth’s long-term commitment to the basin plan. ‘‘It is disappointing that when the former prime minister John Howard stated one of the key reasons the Commonwealth became involved in water management in the Murray-Darling Basin was because of ‘. . . under-resourcing by state and territory governments,’ the Commonwealth appears guilty of doing the same thing even before the basin plan has been fully implemented,’’ he said. Mr Chesson said communities already suffering from drought and water shortages wouldn’t be amused by the government’s failure to commit the funds needed in the forward estimates to manage the water they had recovered for the environment. ‘‘This stands in stark contrast to the $5.3 billion outlined in the budget to recover productive water from communities over the next nine years,’’ Mr Chesson said. Parliamentary secretary to the Federal Environment Minister, Bob Baldwin said the Australian Government remained committed to implementing the basin plan on time and in full. ‘‘We will ensure that all Commonwealth agencies have sufficient funding to meet ongoing costs, following the
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Bob Baldwin meeting farmer Nick Ryan earlier this year at Kyabram. implementation of the basin plan,’’ Mr Baldwin said. ‘‘The fall of allocated funding reflects the end of the funding committed under the Howard government for water reforms in 2007 and the Abbott government will ensure that these important reforms continue. Future funding for ongoing costs for each agency with responsibility for water policy and functions will be addressed as part of the normal budget processes.’’ Mr Chesson said on the positive side, the $70 million for accelerated depreciation — which will allow irrigators from July 1, 2016
to immediately deduct capital expenditure on fencing and water facilities such as dams, tanks, bores, irrigation channels, pumps, and windmills — was a step in the right direction. ‘‘In addition the government is moving to allow farmers to depreciate over three years all capital expenditure on fodder storage assets such as silos and tanks used to store grain and other animal feed,’’ he said. Mr Chesson said he had been encouraged by media reports prior to the budget that these measures were part of larger reforms in the agriculture white paper.
WE ASK: What is your main concern with irrigation water?
Lancaster dairy farmer Brett Dixon: ‘‘Availability and the price. We’re dealing with GM-W at the moment about the Connections Project — it’s taken us a while to get us where we are today, so the process is a bit slow.’’
Calivil dairy farmer Lachy Ralphs: ‘‘The biggest concern is the price of temporary water. I would get rid of nonfarmer investment that is making a profit at the expense of farmers.’’
Mitiamo cropping, hay and silage farmer Peter Meighan: ‘‘People who don’t farm but own water. All the big companies are buying water to trade and make a profit.’’
Picola cropping farmer Kevin Warren: ‘‘The price of water. It’s getting too expensive to use on cropping and grazing. I grow some rice as well and it’s going to be marginal when the price of temporary water is above $115.’’
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‘Water Talk’, June, 2015—PAGE 3
water talk
Poaching the state’s lifeblood outh Australia needs to explain itself S over the ‘‘raid’’ on Victorian water entitlements, according to the VFF.
The VFF wants to see South Australia use water from its $1.8 billion desalination plant before it goes looking for water from farmers in Victoria. ‘‘South Australia’s desalination plant is operating at 10 per cent capacity and for just nine months of the year,’’ Victorian Farmers Federation Water Council chairman Richard Anderson said. ‘‘Instead of cranking up their desalination plant, SA Water has instead decided to wade into Victoria’s water markets and drain 8 billion litres out of our irrigation communities.’’ As it stands, the desalination plant has the capacity to produce 100 000 Ml a year, but SA Water’s website shows it is dribbling out less than 1000 Ml a month (870 Ml in April). Mr Anderson said South Australia was running the whole process of irrigator water buyouts in an underhand way. ‘‘Irrigation communities deserve better and the SA Government, which owns SA Water, needs to tell us exactly what they’re doing,’’ he said. ‘‘So far all they’ve done is issue a twoline statement (on April 30) stating they would acquire up to 8000 Ml of additional entitlements to ensure reliable source water availability. ‘‘We need to know how long they will be in the water market and why do they need the water? Why are they getting brokers to
Support for buyback cap he National Irrigators’ Council has T welcomed the Coalition joint party room support for legislation to cap water
buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin to 1500 Gl. Council chief executive officer Tom Chesson said there was no reason the legislation couldn’t be introduced into the Parliament this week. Mr Chesson said the 1500 Gl cap on water buyback would help improve community and business confidence in the irrigated agriculture sector in the basin and set a limit on how much water would be recovered through water purchases. He said with the drought escalating, it was important long-term certainty was cemented into the basin plan and the communities that depended on irrigation would not be decimated by another round of non-discriminatory, no-regrets water buybacks. ‘‘While the 1500 Gl cap does not change the volume of water that has to be recovered under the basin plan, the social and economic damage that buybacks do to communities can be somewhat mitigated by allowing irrigators to invest in technologies which allow them to produce more with less,’’ Mr Chesson said. ‘‘We are confident that no political party wants to inflict any more social and economic pain on regional communities already struggling to adapt to a life with less water, with around 4 million megalitres of water entitlements already removed from irrigation communities over the last decade. ‘‘We trust that the legislation to cap water buybacks will continue the tradition of bipartisan political support in the MurrayDarling Basin.’’
‘
Irrigation communities deserve better and the SA Government, which owns SA Water, needs to tell us exactly what they’re doing.
’
Richard Anderson make unsolicited calls to irrigators, and is there a tender process? ‘‘And what irrigation systems are they buying from? ‘‘We’ll be calling on SA Water and the SA Government to explain their actions. ‘‘I’ll also be asking Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville to back our call and write to the SA Government demanding to know why they’re in the Victorian market.’’ Mr Anderson said Victorian irrigators expected South Australia to follow the same rules as the Commonwealth when it came to buying water with taxpayers’ money. ‘‘The Commonwealth has a clear process in place when it comes to buying water, which provides a range of information to prospective sellers including average prices paid in recent
Richard Anderson tenders and general market price information.’’ Mr Anderson said the South Australian Government was being lazy and drawing on taxpayers’ contributions to raid and distort the Victorian water market. ‘‘They’re offering Victorian irrigators $2500 a megalitre, about $1000 above the current market price,’’ he said. As it stands, SA Water is selling 12 000 Ml of temporary (only available for one season) water to help fund its purchase of 8000 Ml of permanent Victorian water. Mr Anderson said there was a big difference between a one-off sale of temporary water that was only available for one season, compared to permanently draining 8000 Ml of entitlement out of northern Victorian irrigation communities. ‘‘Eight thousand megalitres of water can produce 10 million litres of milk or thousands of tonnes of fruit, year after year after year,’’ he said. ‘‘Lose the water and you lose the food, jobs and export revenue it delivers to Victoria.’’
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other governments for its decision to buy 8 Gl of water from the MurrayDarling Basin. Most critics are suggesting the government should be using its desalination plant to generate consumptive water, rather than buying up productive water from northern Victoria. Parliamentary secretary to the Federal Environment Minister, Bob Baldwin told COUNTRY NEWS the Commonwealth Government provided more than $300 million to South Australia to help with the building of Adelaide’s desalination plant, to reduce South Australia’s reliance on the Murray River for water supplies. ‘‘Rather than focusing on shoring up more water entitlements from the Murray River system, the SA Government should look at the resources they currently have
for ensuring water security and use those to shore up urban water resources,’’ Mr Baldwin said. Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville said she would raise the issue at the national meeting of state water ministers. Last week she said water trade had occurred in Victoria since 1991. ‘‘In northern Victoria, basin states have worked to progressively remove restrictions on trade to provide flexibility to water users to make the best decisions to support their businesses,’’ she said. ‘‘Under the basin plan, Victoria cannot discriminate against different individuals who wish to buy water, including the South Australian Government. ‘‘I acknowledge the community’s concerns about this issue, and I will raise it with my South Australian colleague at a meeting of Murray-Darling Basin water ministers later this week.’’
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PAGE 4—‘Water Talk’, June, 2015
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Pest guru will pass the baton fter more than 40 A years protecting plants and animals from
Trading water across the Barmah Choke is restricted.
Some trade allowed
he Murray-Darling Basin Authority T said on May 22, the volume of water able to be traded from above to below the Barmah Choke was 18 798.6 Ml. This balance relates to the current restriction in place, only allowing downstream allocation (temporary) trade where the same or greater volume had been traded upstream. Water licence holders are advised the balance must be reset to zero at the beginning of the new water year on Wednesday, July 1. Water licence holders downstream of the choke can continue to trade allocations upstream.
From July, downstream allocation trade will only be permitted at the choke once upstream trades have occurred, unless a determination is made to relax the normal trade restriction. Determinations are based on weather patterns, likely water usage and water availability downstream of the choke. Water entitlements (permanent) cannot be traded from above to below the choke. Under the basin governments’ Murray– Darling Basin Agreement, trading water across the Barmah Choke is restricted but does allow the restriction to be relaxed for allocations if there is available channel capacity.
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introduced threats, John ‘Jammo’ James knows a thing or two about the topic, and is passing on his knowledge. For the past three years, Mr James has been the face of the North Central Catchment Management Authority, working around the region’s Ramsar-listed wetlands — Gunbower Forest and the Kerang Marshlands — as a catchment restoration officer. Based in Kerang, he has been at the pointy end of pest management programs in and around the Kerang and Gunbower wetlands and has worked to ensure the protection of their valuable flora and fauna. He is retiring to take a caravan across Australia and look after his treasured grandchildren. ‘‘I have loved the variety of the job,’’ he said. ‘‘It will be hard to leave, given what we have planned for the next 12 months. ‘‘We have just started our fox-shooting program — which will complement our baiting program — to preserve turtle nests, and there are a few more exciting projects on the horizon. ‘‘But it is really the people I will miss. I have always really enjoyed working with the local community, especially working with individuals to improve their own properties.’’ Mr James has played a part in a number of significant pest-plant and animals programs. Among them have been successful blackberry, horehound and bridal creeper eradication projects along Gunbower Creek and within the forest.
Retiring North CMA staff member John ‘Jammo’ James (right) with his replacement Chris McGrath. ‘‘I have helped target blackberry, mostly in Gunbower Creek but also on Gunbower Island, for the past three years,’’ he said. ‘‘It is a fairly extensive eradication program, along the creek from Koondrook to near Torrumbarry. ‘‘It’s about 80 km of creek, treating blackberry on both sides. We completed the last section this year. It was a pretty major program.’’ Bridal creeper was also a significant problem on Gunbower Island, especially in the Baggots Creek area. ‘‘We had a 5 ha section with about 80 per cent coverage,’’ he said. ‘‘We are pretty confident that in another two years we will have stopped it. ‘‘The interesting part of this program is we have introduced the bridal creeper moth there, which bores into the roots and also attacks the foliage. ‘‘That takes about two years to establish, but once it does we will use that site as a nursery site, and take the moths to other places they are needed.’’ Horehound is a hardy
herb-like weed that is very invasive. ‘‘On Gunbower Island it was forcing out all the native grasses in the area, and it is ideal cover for rabbits,’’ Mr James said. ‘‘It can easily spread throughout the island, via campers, vehicles and animals. Our spraying program has been a great success, with a 90 per cent reduction. ‘‘We are already seeing native grasses come back into these areas, which is fantastic.’’ Mr James is handing the reins to someone he employed years ago when he was at the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning — Chris McGrath. ‘‘He’s a local lad, from Quambatook,’’ Mr James said. Mr McGrath returns to the area after four years in Alice Springs working to manage the feral camel problem. Mr James will show him the ropes over the next few weeks and urged locals to make him welcome.
‘Water Talk’, June, 2015—PAGE 5
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Charity event to honour Gleeson ictoria’s 19 water authorities will V host the Biggest Ever Dinner later this month to raise funds for the
Australian Prostate Cancer Foundation. The event will include guest speakers Sam Kekovich, Terry Daniher, Eloise Southby, Bernie Crimmins and David Parkin. Organising chair and Western Water managing director Neil Brennan said the event was organised in honour of water industry stalwart Laurie Gleeson, who died from prostate cancer in January. ‘‘Laurie was managing director of Goulburn Valley Water for 28 years and was highly regarded as an innovative industry leader,’’ Mr Brennan said. ‘‘He championed the annual Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch in Shepparton to raise funds for prostate cancer, so it is a fitting tribute to him to hold this event.’’ About 500 water industry colleagues, suppliers, contractors and consultants will attend the dinner at Etihad Stadium on Thursday, June 25. The major sponsor is EcoCatlyst, with additional sponsorship from Vision Super, Goulburn Valley Water, Integrity Governance, Coliban Water and Marsden Jacobs and Associates. It is the first time the water industry has come together to raise funds for the cause and the event will be held in conjunction with the Institute of Water Administration Conference. ‘‘Prostate cancer affects so many people in our community, and water businesses are also enlisting the support of their local
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Water industry stalwart Laurie Gleeson lost his battle with prostate cancer in January. He was 66, and was Goulburn Valley Water managing director for 28 years until 2008. businesses that are kindly donating auction and raffle prizes for the event,’’ Mr Brennan said. He said a few tables were still available for the night. ➤ Tickets can be purchased from Ben Brennan on 0430 139 969.
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‘Water Talk’, June, 2015—PAGE 7
water talk
Sending pumps to the world By Geoff Adams
T
ocumwal pump maker Batescrew has proven there is still some life in Australian manufacturers, with the dispatch of a large order bound for Asia from its factory this week. The company has been working on the custom-made 10 large pumps for the Malaysian Government for most of this year. Sales engineer Michael McCalman said the pumps were largely fabricated from Australianmade components and put together at their Newell Hwy workshop. He said the pumps would be installed for flood mitigation with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage and the order came about because the government found pumps from another country, although cheaper, had high maintenance and repair costs. ‘‘They were finding the costs of flying technical people in was becoming too high,’’ Mr McCalman said. ‘‘We’d already sold them one which they put to work and they were evidently happy with that. ‘‘We think we’ve got a very robust pump, in its design and materials.’’ It is described as a 14-inch, mixed-flow impeller, submersible hydraulic-drive pump. The pump is designed to
Production manager Kevin Haynes with the export pumps. Sales engineer Michael McCalman (left) and assembly leading hand Aart Van Dam with the pumps destined for Malaysia. operate at 280 litres/second at 6 m total dynamic head, operating at 1300 revolutions per minute utilising 23 kW of power at 80 per cent efficiency open mixed flow impeller. It has a cast-iron housing, bronze impeller and stainless steel shaft. The 10 pumps were loaded into a container last week and should be in Melbourne Port this week for shipping out to Malaysia. Batescrew was formed in 1951
by Duncan Bate and today, under the management of Michael Bate, employs about 25 people. Today Batescrew pumps can be found in water supply installations, sewerage authorities, power stations and large farm operations. The company provided seven large flow pumps for the Hattah Pump Station last year and during the drought built the pumps which were used to draw the uncommandable water from the bottom of Waranga Basin.
Batescrew pumps were used for this installation at Hattah Lakes.
PAGE 8—‘Water Talk’, June, 2015
water talk
Works secure water access ork has started to W secure ongoing water access for landholders who
rely on supply from the Little Murray River. The work is part of the Swan Hill Modernisation Project and involves installing pipes and pumps to connect all 23 landholders along the river to a pumped supply. A main pump station will also be built immediately upstream of the weir to provide future water supply to landholders along the number nine channel upstream of Swan Hill. The number nine channel through the City of Swan Hill is due to be decommissioned next year. Goulburn-Murray Water Connections project manager Darren Nabbs said the move to have all land owners on a pumped supply would mean they would still have access to water once work to lower the height of Little Murray River Weir started next year. ‘‘Lowering the weir, as well as opening Fish Point Weir at the upper end of the river for the majority of time, will return the Little Murray River to a more natural regime,’’ Mr Nabbs said. ‘‘This will benefit the health of the river by improving overall water quality and river bank vegetation. Removing barriers
and installing fish ladders will allow native fish to move along the entire length of the river.’’ Preparation works for lowering and repairing the weir will also be carried out this winter. Mr Nabbs said project staff had worked closely with diverters and the local community in the lead up to work starting. ‘‘Their input has been important to the smooth rollout of the project.’’ The $27 million Swan Hill Modernisation Project will provide a more efficient and reliable water supply to the region’s irrigators, improve the health of Little Murray River and generate water savings of up to 2360 Ml/year. The project is part of the $2 billion G-MW Connections project, funded by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments. The Connections project aims to modernise the irrigation delivery network to secure supply for the region’s producers, improve water efficiency and generate water savings that contribute to Victoria’s environmental watering requirements under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Commission is gone he House of Representatives T has passed legislation to abolish the National Water
Commission, to deliver streamlined and cost-effective monitoring and oversight of water reform. Parliamentary Secretary to the Environment Minister Bob Baldwin said the legislation would save $21 million over the forward estimates. ‘‘This will also reduce red tape for the water industry, as part of the government’s efforts to streamline water reporting,’’ Mr Baldwin said. ‘‘We are also reducing overall costs to taxpayers associated with a stand-alone agency, while still ensuring the continuation of the key functions of the NWC. ‘‘All governments have made substantial progress in water reform so there is no longer a need for the National Water Commission to operate as a stand-alone agency. ‘‘We’re confident that the Productivity Commission will strengthen and improve the reporting and analysis of the progress of water reform across Australia. ‘‘This has been a highly consultative process; we have taken account of feedback through amendments to ensure that there is strong stakeholder engagement by the Productivity Commission,’’ Mr Baldwin said. ‘‘We’re glad that we’ve been able to come together with the relevant stakeholders to continue our strong water reforms.’’
The National Water Commission has been legislated out of business. The Productivity Commission will be responsible for the triennial assessment of progress towards achieving the National Water Initiative objectives, as well as the biennial National Water Planning Report Card, which is produced under the triennial assessment. National Water Commission chair Karlene Maywald warned last year the water industry would need ongoing independent auditing, especially in this time of expansion. She was concerned scrapping the commission would move water
reform off the national agenda. Ms Maywald said the Federal Government had named the Productivity Commission as the body to take over the role of monitoring and auditing water reform. ‘‘The concern I have is that the Productivity Commission reports to the treasurer, it doesn’t report to COAG,’’ she said. Greens Deputy Leader Larissa Waters said the abolition of the commission was ‘‘just reckless in the extreme’’.
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y lle Va ear an e Y 13. si la th 0 ra of 2 s t e r nd Au eal 12 a D 0 2
water talk
Looking ahead to allocations ith the closure of W NSW inter-valley trade to, or from, Victoria
and South Australia on April 30, allocation market prices are continuing to push higher as low dam levels have tightened supply. There is strong demand for carryover water, with buyers re-evaluating their early prices as the market is very tight.
Victoria:
In Victoria, 2015-16 determinations for highreliability water shares will be made on July 1. Low-reliability water shares determinations are unlikely to be made, and the risk of spill is lower but a declaration will depend on system inflows. Opening HRWS determinations are expected in the range of 36 per cent (dry) to 47 per cent (wet) for the Murray, and 36 to 69 per cent for the Goulburn. On the Murray, determinations are expected to be: ➤ 58 per cent (dry), 80
per cent (average) and 100 per cent (wet) by October 15, 2016. ➤ 100 per cent by February 15 unless conditions are dry, when determinations are expected to be 79 per cent. On the Goulburn, determinations are expected to be: ➤ 76 per cent under dry conditions and 100 per cent under average or better conditions by October 15, 2016. ➤ 100 per cent under dry conditions by February 15.
NSW:
In NSW, the opening allocations for NSW Murray are expected to be zero per cent for general security and 80 per cent for high security, but these are not guaranteed. Improvements to dam volumes will go to HS users first, then conveyance water, then GS users. Under drought or very dry conditions, GS allocations will be zero per cent until November 1 at least. Under dry conditions, GS allocations will be zero per
cent at September 1 and are expected to be 14 per cent at November 1. Under average conditions, GS allocations are expected to be one per cent at September 1 and 35 per cent at November 1. Expectations under wet conditions are 18 per cent and 71 per cent respectively. On the Murrumbidgee, HS licences are expected to receive 95 per cent allocation on July 1. GS opening allocations are expected to be at least eight per cent , but under drought conditions will not improve from this level. Under very dry conditions (as are being experienced) GS allocations will be nine per cent at July 1, 14 per cent at September 1 and 24 per cent by November 1. Under dry conditions allocations will start at 10 per cent and reach 37 per cent by November 1. Under average conditions, this range is 13 per cent to 59 per cent .
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Water levels will be low enough this week for planned structural works for Lake Mulwala foreshore to begin.
Lake level lowered
oulburn-Murray Water has advised G boat users the Yarrawonga Yacht Club boat ramp at Lake Mulwala
remains open. Other boat ramps at the lake have been closed to the public for safety reasons as the lake’s water levels has been lowered to prepare for structural works at Yarrawonga weir and the lake foreshore, and to manage the aquatic weed Egeria densa. G-MW regional customer service manager Martina Cusack said the level of Lake Mulwala had been falling by an average of 15 cm a day since May 15. ‘‘The Yarrawonga Yacht Club boat ramp is currently the only ramp that is safe for boat users to use,’’ Ms Cusack said. ‘‘The other ramps at the lake have been closed for now, however, we will continue to monitor access to all ramps during the works and keep the public informed of access.’’ The lake will be lowered until it reaches
3.5 m below the normal operating level, expected to be this week. It will remain at this level until mid-July for works to be completed at the weir and foreshore, and to allow the aquatic weed to dry out. The structural works will include routine testing of the weir’s anchors and erosion control on the lake foreshore. Lowering the lake by 3.5 m will also dry out the aquatic weed Egeria densa, which will help to stop it spreading in the lake. ‘‘It’s essential that we maintain river infrastructure for local use and to support the industries and environment that rely on the efficient management of the river,’’ Ms Cusack said. People can continue to fish at the lake. G-MW operates Yarrawonga Weir on behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. ➤ More information will be provided in the MDBA’s River Operations Weekly Report at www.mdba.gov.au/river-data/currentinformation-forecasts
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‘We are your complete land development professionals’ SHEPPARTON 5 Telford Drive, Shepparton Phone: (03) 5821 7171 Email: mail@onleys.com.au www.onleys.com.au SURVEY DESIGN IRRIGATION SURVEY DESIGN IRRIGATION SURVEY DESIGN IRRIG
PAGE 10—‘Water Talk’, June, 2015
water talk
Tech solutions rrigators flowed into the Igrounds Shepparton Showrecently to check
WTC expo chair Wendy Buck and secretary John Mapson at the expo at Shepparton Showgrounds.
Garth Suffern from GNS Engineering.
State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed officially opened the expo.
out the latest technology at the WTC Irrigation and Energy Expo. On Wednesday and Thursday, May 20 and 21, irrigators from the dairy, beef, horticulture and grain industries had the opportunity to visit almost 80 sites. Sites included GoulburnMurray Water, Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, the Farm Water Program, W&P Pumps, Rich River Irrigation, Padman Stops and Rob Rye Irrigation. State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed officially opened the expo and said there was still more to come with discussions about current irrigation issues and policies, including G-MW’s Connections project and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The expo partnered with GV Community Energy which gave away almost 1000 free energy-saving light globes. WTC expo chair Wendy Buck said all the sites were full, and even though numbers were down the exhibitors said it was well worth coming.
Dion Roberts from Rivulis Irrigation. She said farmers who attended the expo for the first time commented on what a terrific idea and venue it was to have the water authority, the Farm Water Program, service providers and manufacturers under one roof. Mrs Buck said hot topics around the lunch tables were the Farm Water Program rounds being under-subscribed; the price of water; farmers still waiting for G-MW’s Connections project to get to them; and the need to close the loop and finish the modernisation project without farmers being disadvantaged or left out. She thanked the expo
committee, particularly John ‘Mappo’ Mapson and treasurer Andrew Chittick. ‘‘A big thank you to our sponsors who make it financially possible to bring WTC expo each year, enabling the exhibitor site fees to stay low, and free entry possible.’’ The expo’s collaboration with G-MW’s Connections project, the Farm Water Program, service providers and manufacturers was focused on achieving a common goal: to improve and promote the effective and efficient use of water and energy-saving initiatives within the irrigation industry.
Making your farm more water efficient
Turning old fashioned flood irrigation into precision surface irrigation. • All forms of agricultural earthworks • On-farm efficiency layouts • Top soiling • Bulk earthmoving • Rock line channels
PTY.LTD.
Contact Peter Hendy today on 0428 848 900.
‘Water Talk’, June, 2015—PAGE 11
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Geovanni Escuyos from Crusader Hose.
Tim Douglas from AWMA at the WTC Irrigation and Energy Expo in Shepparton last month.
John Padman from Padman Stops.
Darren Kell and Trevor McRae from Rich River Irrigation Developments.
Pictures: Holly Curtis
PAGE 12—‘Water Talk’, June, 2015
Connections Project
Connections Project Winter Works to boost local economies What we are doing
Swan Hill
5 Automation works 3 Channel remediation works 5 Pipeline works
Automation works: 73 sites to be automated Channel remediation works: 16 pools to be remediated* Pipeline works: 56 pipelines to be built^
Torrumbarry
Kerang
25 Automation works 5 Channel remediation works 28 Pipeline works
Cohuna
3 Automation works 3 Channel remediation works 3 Pipeline works Murray Valley
Cobram
Central Goulburn
Loddon Valley
Nathalia Pyramid Hill
Numurkah
Echuca Kyabram
Shepparton
Rochester Tatura
26 Automation works 1 Channel remediation works 1 Pipeline works
Shepparton Rochester
14 Automation works 4 Channel remediation works 19 Pipeline works
*There will be a mixture of outer bank remodelling, HDPE and clay lining remediation methods with 30.709kms pool length and 3,633 ML estimated water savings. ^8 pipelines can be built ‘in season ’ The remaining pipelines to be built during winter shut down (Source from GMW provided 26 May 2015).
This year’s winter works program of up to $100 million to modernise the Northern Victorian irrigation network is a win for irrigators, the environment and the community. As well as supporting the region’s irrigators to use water more efficiently and increase productivity, the winter program supports regional economies by generating work for local contractors and businesses. Much of the necessary channel automation, rehabilitation and rationalisation work will be completed during winter when the channel network is drained. The Connections works are part of GMW’s broader winter works program. For more information on GMW’s channel works, go to www.gmwater.com.au
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A direct connection to the backbone has given us the flexibility and capability to send and split water to where it is needed George Wells Dairy farmer, Strathmerton
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Work to reduce water losses due to leaks and seepage will be carried out along more than 30km of channels during the irrigation off-season (May 15 to August 15) as part of the GMW Connections Project.
Public are reminded that access to construction sites is prohibited for safety reasons