Construction of Stage 2 of the $10 million Yanco Stock & Domestic Project has begun, with the project set to provide a safer environment for residents through the removal of open waterways and narrow road crossings.
Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI) CEO, Brett Jones, said the modernisation project provided a great opportunity to rescale operations to meet the changing needs of Yanco Village customers.
“Some channels were replaced with gravity pipelines last year under Stage 1 of the project, and others will now be replaced with a low-pressure pumped system, which will give us improved flow control and reduce water losses,” Mr Jones said.
“With ongoing dry conditions and low allocations, we have been adjusting our operations across the MIA network to ensure we can continue to deliver water in a way that best optimises system efficiency, and the timing of this project fits in well with these adjustments.”
Several channels will be removed, giving some customers — who no longer need stock and domestic access — the opportunity to exit the system.
MI General Manager Asset Delivery, Jody Rudd, said that MI has been talking to Yanco customers to determine what they wanted to do, and this consultation will continue throughout the implementation of Stage 2 of the project.
“Our engagement officer will also be working with Yanco Village residents who may be impacted by the works,” Mr Rudd added.
“As a proud part of the local community, we see this as an opportunity to realign our supply network with contemporary community needs.”
The project will also include land remediation works to improve aesthetics and street access. This involves the removal of rubbish and weeds, followed by backfilling of old channels to restore land to the agreed contour levels.
Mr Jones said that MI is committed to leveraging off benefits of modernisations projects, to deliver value to all customers.
“It isn’t just Yanco customers who will be advantaged by the project,” he said.
“All customers will ultimately benefit through operating and maintenance savings and lower future refurbishment costs. This will in turn help us to reduce long-term costs and keep prices down.”
The project will be completed by the end of July 2019.
