Projects

Winter Works 2024

July 2024

We have now ticked over the halfway stage of our Winter Works, and our automation finalisation program is on track for completion over the next few months.

Supply interruptions
WaterNSW river interruptions on the Sturt Canal have now ended, and they will end Monday, 5 August, on the Main Canal.
We are working closely with WaterNSW to refill the system as soon as possible. If you are in an area where works are occurring, or planned, we will continue to liaise with you on supply interruptions and critical water needs.
Please place your orders in our updated water ordering platform, MI Connect.
Click here to access a suite of resources and instructions available to help you operate MI Connect and answer any questions. There are downloadable PDF guides and quick video tutorials to suit whatever you need to do – from first logging on through to amending orders and running reports. 

Channel refurbishment works

We have been conducting works on our channels this winter as part of our strategy to mitigate seepage and to ensure we can deliver water in the best way possible.
Channel refurbishment works completed include 690m of channel on the Gogelderie Branch Canal (GBC1), and 880m of channel in Warburn (see above photo).
Works are now underway on 1,200m of channel on Branch Canal (BC4), and these are due to be completed by mid-August.

Maintenance works

Before and after shots of some channel bank rebuilds in Murrami, using our excavator’s 3D technology.

Our winter maintenance works will start to transition over to in season works over the next few months. Our maintenance program has been running in parallel with our automation works, with a focus on desilting and rebuilding channel banks.
These works have been focussed around the Griffith, Leeton, Whitton, Bilbul and Murrami areas over the past month.
We have also been conducting annual scheduled maintenance on pump sheds across the MIA.
Sections of some channels where there are no works are being lowered intermittently to allow for inspections and programmed maintenance works.

Outlet and regulator works
 
An outlet installation in Griffith last week.

We are just over halfway through our final program of outlet and regulators works around Leeton and Griffith, which will complete the automation of our network.
There have been some minor delays over the past few weeks, with wet weather impacting our ability to safely access sites.
An engagement officer will contact you to discuss any planned works in your area, so there is no need for you to do anything.

Roach’s Surge Reservoir

The major earth works at Roach’s Reservoir are complete, and the inlet and outlet channels are now cut into the Main Canal.
We will continue filling the reservoir over the next two months, with the project due for completion by September.

Residential Connections Program
Our Residential Connections supply product is for customers with water entitlements who require water to be used on an area up to 1 Ha.
We have a support package available to help existing customers who choose to transition to a Residential Connection. Our Customer Engagement Officers are in the process of contacting eligible customers.
Check out our fact sheet for more information.
 
Our Customer Operations Centre hours are currently 6am-9pm, 7-days a week to align with customer demand during the winter period. We will extend these hours to 6am- 11pm next month as demand increases.

Contacting us about your water order is as simple as calling 02 6962 0200 and pressing 1 when prompted. As usual we are available for Supply and Drainage emergency's outside of Customer Operations Centre hours- simply follow the same process as above and you will be diverted to our after hours on-call.

Automating the MIA Project Overview

In January 2022, we welcomed the announcement of $126.48 million in funding under the State led Off-farm Efficiency Program, to finalise our automation works.

The project will upgrade 1,500 metered outlets, automate 360 regulators, refurbish 20 kilometres of open earth channels and construct a new 5,000 ML surge reservoir that together will generate 6.3 GL per year of water savings for the environment and 1.1 GL for water users and the community.

This project will complete the modernisation of the MIA and provide the region with a modern, reliable and efficient water supply. This funding is a key enabler to improving farm productivity and crop yields that support the continued growth and prosperity of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

It is a win for everyone, with flow on economic benefits throughout the community, while also delivering significant water savings for the environment. We need to be ready to support our customers though seasons of vastly changing water availability, and these automation works are key to ensuring that we can meet these challenges whilst ensuring our system runs efficiently. 

The project commenced at the end of the 2021/22 irrigation season and will be delivered by the end of 2024.