Australian Water Management Review Vol 1 2010 | Page 20

WMPP Delivers Regional Vision
450 millimetre PVC pipe stack near grain silo

During the 1890s the Dimboola Shire
Council called for investigations
into ‘piping the Wimmera Mallee
channel system’. Despite the delay
of over one hundred years for action,
their vision for a regional future has
been well and truly exceeded by the
implementation of the Wimmera Mallee
Pipeline during the early twenty first
century. The range of project benefits
and innovations achieved were not
considered (or even possible) during
those early deliberations.
Issues such as returning water
savings to the environment, future
agribusiness development, improved
water quality and the social wellbeing of the community were not
on the agenda at that time. The real
success of the community driven
infrastructure project, replacing
18,000 kilometres of earthen channel
with 9,000 kilometres of pressurised
pipeline, lies in the identification and
delivery of environmental, economic
and social benefits flowing from the
infrastructure change.
The strong regional profile of the project
and the level of stakeholder engagement
during the development of the project
plan, has guaranteed that the range of
issues identified during the planning phase
have been delivered as direct benefits
from the pipeline.
The initial ten year implementation plan
was fast tracked to be completed in
less than four years, due to the extreme
drought conditions. With regional

Water Management Review 2010

storage capacity below 10 % for several
years, precluding channel supply and
necessitating extensive water carting, the
impetus for the implementation of the
pipeline increased dramatically.
Financial support from government,
landowner cooperation and innovative use
of technology has enabled the shortened
timelines for pipeline construction.
Extensive consultation, built on the
vision of regional leaders, ensured the
aspirations of regional community and
business groups were incorporated into
the pipeline proposal. The vision was
supported by Victorian Government water
policy reform, as well as the emerging
water policy debate within the Australian
Government. Government focus on
sustainable water management led to
their investment in the project to secure
water savings for the environment. The
pipeline created a new regime of water
management in the region, providing
benefits to the environment, securing
water for all consumptive users and
providing a sustainable future for the
Wimmera Mallee.
The regional water supply system was
historically over-committed, impacting
on both the environmental sustainability
and the economic viability of the region.
Re-allocation of over 100 gigalitres of
the water savings (generated by piping
the system) to the environmental water
reserve and a business development pool,
contributes to a sustainable environmental
and economic future for the region. This
delivers on the primary government

objectives of returning water to the
environment, and providing for regional
development opportunities.
Of course the primary legacy of the
Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project is
securing water for existing customers,
delivering quality water to over 5,000 farm
properties and thirty six towns across
the two million hectares of the Wimmera
Mallee region.
Access to greatly improved water quality,
on tap twenty-four hours a day seven days
a week, has triggered considerable onfarm water management change. Driven
by the extended drought, farmers were
well prepared for piped water, with onfarm reticulation systems including tanks,
troughs and pipelines. These systems
will be extended as the livestock sector
recovers and the economy of the region
improves post-drought.
The pipeline will also deliver formal
water entitlements to rural customers,
establishing a regional water market and
providing security for investment. This
will allow the shift of water to high value
activities, with the community making
economic or social decisions about where
water is directed.
Farmers are now identifying diversification
opportunities to build on the strength of
the grains expertise in the region and the
availability of secure good quality water.
Key opportunities in intensive animal
production (such as sheep, cattle and
poultry) will build on the region’s natural
advantages of temperate climate, good