Creating water savings in Australia's food bowl

Australia’s irrigated agriculture has a vital role to play in meeting the challenges of food security in the context of climate variability and a growing global population. It is crucial to find new ways to use water more efficiently in order to increase food production while protecting the environment in the long term.

In the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) in NSW, irrigation modernisation has created significant water savings to benefit the environment and communities in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Concrete being sprayed to upgrade the Lake View Branch Canal.

One of Australia’s largest private irrigation companies, Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited, has formed the MIA Renewal Alliance with GHD, John Holland Group and UGL Infrastructure to deliver a series of water-saving projects. The alliance is working closely with local communities to design and carry out irrigation infrastructure modernisation works that will improve productivity, create water savings and ensure the long-term viability of the MIA and surrounding regions.

The Lake Wyangan project is one of two current projects that aim to deliver water savings back to the Murray-Darling Basin river system. The $50 million project, funded under the Australian Government’s Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators Program, consists of increasing the capacity of the Lake View Branch Canal (LVBC), replacing 15.8 km of deteriorated lining in the LVBC, modernising the lateral canals through the installation of 13.8 km of gravity pipelines, replacing Dethridge wheels with electronic flow meters, automating flow control structures and installing remote monitoring capability for new metered outlets.

In addition, stakeholder consultation has helped rationalise farm watering requirements through a reduction of required infrastructure, removal of farm outlets and/or a reduction in the future capacity required. Installing new metering and automated flow-control technology has also made it possible to monitor and manage water usage in real time. The asset owner can use this data in the future to prioritise capital works to further reduce water wastage.

The Lake View Branch Canal following the upgrade.

The alliance continues to work with local communities to improve productivity and create water savings.

“This is a significant project for the Australian water industry as it delivers fundamental water savings to the MIA and the Murray-Darling Basin,” says Andrew Porter, GHD’s MIA Renewal Alliance representative. “Additionally, it improves the sustainability of the district into the future.

“Overall, the project renews a large part of the Lake Wyangan irrigation system and assists in recovering water for the environment, while providing a modern, efficient and effective way to deliver water to irrigators in the region.”