Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI) has announced the commencement dates for its 2017/18 irrigation season sooner than previously planned.
The commencement dates have been staggered to enable customer access to water as early as possible in each area of the network with normal supply operations to resume by 5 August (over a week ahead of schedule).
MI CEO, Brett Jones, said that MI had been working closely with WaterNSW to expedite water availability across the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.
“Demand for water is high at the moment due to both the extended irrigation shutdown and dry winter, so we have been working to open the network as soon as possible,” Mr Jones said.
“Thanks to the cooperation of WaterNSW and the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), who are currently managing an environmental flow down the Murrumbidgee River, we will be able to commence the season sooner than expected.”
Mr Jones thanked all customers for their patience during the extended winter works period.
“This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity to modernise our Main Canal and set up the region for the future.
“With the upcoming commencement of the irrigation season, we look forward to working together again with our customers in what we hope is a prosperous season for everyone.”
MI also announced this week they will be providing a 4 per cent additional annual water allocation to eligible customers as a result of company water savings and efficiency measures.
Staggered commencement dates are below, but there are isolated pockets of works currently being completed.
This may cause minor delays in the commencement of water delivery services to some parts of the system:
- 1 August – Leeton area (upstream of Boundary Regulator) – supply available to support town and critical crop needs
- 2 August – Sturt system open on a limited supply
- 3 August- Griffith area (downstream of East Mirrool Regulator) – supply available to support town and critical crop needs, and resume normal operations
- 5 August Main Canal system
- 7 August Sturt Canal system
