Three decades ago, various regional water corporations, including Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW), superseded the Victorian Rural Water Commission.
It was a considerable change for Victoria’s rural water industry, as it would become decentralised for the first time.
The shift was designed to achieve two major changes: making the industry commercially self-sufficient and increasing the customer’s role in industry decisions.
Thirty years later, GMW is celebrating the continued realisation of these goals.
GMW was the largest of the water corporations established after the Victorian Rural Water Commission’s dissolution. It covers a 68,000-square-kilometre region that covers much of northern Victoria.
It was a considerable undertaking to assume control of water storage and delivery along with all the associated assets within the region while also making irrigation in the region self-sufficient.
GMW Managing Director Charmaine Quick said it had been a continual improvement process for the water corporation.
“The irrigation industry in northern Victoria is very different now to what it was 30 years ago,” she said.
“Climate change has drastically reduced the inflows our storages receive, and we now harvest water not only for irrigators but also for town water suppliers and environmental water holders. We have consequently had to do more with less.
“However, through prioritising innovation and finding various efficiencies, we have ensured our region remains one of Australia’s most productive agricultural regions.”
Over the years, there have been various steps that have helped GMW achieve this, including the following milestones:
2000 – Groundwater metering complete:
In recent decades, groundwater has become an increasingly important resource. GMW manages the resources to protect the environment; all licence holders get their share fairly.
Having metered groundwater pumps helps GMW closely monitor groundwater usage and ensure compliance.
In 2000, metering for groundwater pumps was completed for the Campaspe Deep Lead, Katunga Groundwater Supply Protection Area, and the Nagambie Groundwater Management Area.
2001 – Total Channel Control trialled:
Total Channel Control (TCC) has transformed how GMW manages its delivery network.
TCC is a system of automated structures, such as flume gates and meters, that measure and control flow from the water source to customers’ properties in real time.
The pilot was conducted in 2001 and was an unbridled success.
TCC is now rolled out across most of the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District. It is crucial to the sustainability of irrigation in the region, not only removing the risk of excess water being delivered but also helping GMW identify where there are leaks or problems with flow rates within its system.
2004 – Irrigation network reconfiguration program begins:
In partnership with customers, GMW began an irrigation network reconfiguration program to help save water and create efficiencies.
The program aimed to rationalise underutilised infrastructure, and by its completion in 2008, GMW had decommissioned more than 80km of channels, over 400 on-farm meter outlets, and various other regulators, culverts, and bridges.
Reconfiguration helped start modernising GMW’s delivery network. During the program, one electric meter outlet was installed for every 3.7 decommissioned Dethridge meters.
2007 – Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project announced:
The Victorian Government recognised climate change would significantly impact the state’s food production and, in 2007, announced $1 billion in funding to modernise and rationalise infrastructure in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District.
The project involved various water-saving measures, such as decommissioning and remediating channels and modernising irrigation infrastructure.
2011 – Stage Two of the Connections Project Begins:
In November 2011, the Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project was integrated into GMW as the GMW Connections Project.
This coincided with the Commonwealth Government agreeing to jointly fund Stage 2 of the project, contributing $953 million in addition to the $106 million from the Victoria Government.
It would exceed its target and achieve 433 GL of water savings per year.
2020 – Customer bills reduced by an average of 10 per cent:
In 2020, GMW customers received on average a 10 per cent drop in their fees.
In the years preceding the announcement, GMW had leveraged various efficiencies to reduce its annual expenditure requirements by $64 million.
Since this significant price reduction, GMW’s prices have, on average, reduced even further before CPI.
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