The 2023 Winter Works program is set to begin which will run during the irrigation off season from May until August.
We’re busy getting ready to begin the 2023 Winter Works program for the Water Efficiency Project (WEP), which will run during the irrigation off season from May until August. This will be the last Winter Works program for WEP.
Construction works will take place across the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District (GMID) and involve heavy machinery and extensive materials, which will be moved across different sites. Please take extra care on the roads during this time, as our vehicles may be over-sized and slow moving.
Despite the challenges of widespread flooding across northern Victoria late last year, WEP remains on track. Our partnerships with contractors and local communities have been critical to our ongoing success.
Finally, I am pleased that WEP has now delivered 7GL of water recovery for the environment.
You can read more about this milestone, and the works we have planned for our final Winter Works program, below.
The 7GL of water recovery delivered by WEP was subject to independent audits to verify this volume and has now been transferred to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. This helps Victoria achieve its water recovery obligations under the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
To date, construction has also been completed on works that contribute about 13GL of the total 15.9 GL water savings of the project.
Completing these works ahead of schedule is a fantastic achievement.
Above: WEP construction works near Waaia
The last Winter Works program for WEP is approaching, with significant works occurring across the GMID, including at Echuca.
In and around Echuca we are replacing inefficient open channels with more than 11 kilometres of gravity pipeline. This will deliver both water efficiency improvements and safety benefits for the area, with the removal of the open channel near the town.
The works in Echuca will also improve water delivery for around 100 landowners.
Left: Open channel will be replaced, and infrastructure will be modernised as part of the Echuca works.