11 January 2007

IRRIGATION SEASON CLOSURE END OF MARCH

Murrumbidgee Irrigation today announced that due to the ongoing dry conditions, the irrigation season will be closed in the last week of March, subject to water availability continuing as expected. This follows warnings in mid-December that early closure was a possibility.

Brett Tucker, Managing Director of Murrumbidgee Irrigation advised that “the end of March shut down is necessary given the prevailing seasonal conditions.”

“Despite the best efforts of staff and customers to maximise water delivery efficiency, we will simply run out of water if conditions do not improve. Whilst some individuals will have water remaining after this time, Murrumbidgee Irrigation will have no alternative but to cease diversions from the river because we have insufficient conveyance allowance to deliver small amounts of water following the cuts announced by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in November,” said Mr Tucker.

Customers who had previously planned to run Autumn watering programs should reassess these plans. Any customers with fixed requirements for water in April and May, including stock and domestic needs, should carefully consider options such as increased on-farm storage.

Murrumbidgee Irrigation is currently working through options to secure essential supplies after system closure in March, subject to water availability. We will endeavour to hold water in the channels for as long as possible after shut down and work with customers to make best possible use of this residual water. There may also be some chance that we can offer an additional brief period of supply for high security users under strict rostering after shut down. Likelihood of this event will be advised by the company as the season progresses. Consultation with customer groups will also take place to ensure that the resource goes to where it is most needed at that time.

Mr Tucker also reminds eligible high security customers that the 5% Crop Protection Package is only available for use after February. Accessibility to the package after March will be subject to season conditions and resource availability.

A new allocation announcement is expected from DNR early next week. At this stage we are not aware of the details of this announcement however there have only been minor natural inflows into Burrinjuck and Blowering dams throughout December.

“These are very difficult times for our customers and our company. Water is vital to the future of this community and we will continue to maximise operating efficiencies and provide everyone with the latest information available so they can make informed decisions” advised Mr Tucker.