Macalister Channel Automation Project
The Macalister Irrigation District, centred on Maffra in Gippsland, is the site of the Macalister Channel Automation Project. The District is the largest irrigation area south of the Divide but its distribution systems are, on average, only 67% efficient.
The Victorian Water Trust has invested over $7.5 million in the Macalister Channel Automation Project to modernise parts of the Main Northern Channel system within the MID. The aims of the project are to yield at least 5 billion litres average annual water savings to enhance environmental flows in the Macalister and Thomson Rivers, and to improve service levels to irrigators.
Stages 1 and 2 of the project have been completed by Southern Rural Water, and the new irrigation infrastructure has been in operation for up to four irrigation seasons to confirm the water savings. A formal environmental entitlement to the water savings is being established.
The project utilises Australian technology and engineering that replaces manually operated regulators and outlets with automated gates that open and close in response to changes in water demand within the system. This is believed to be the first time in the world this technology is being used to save water that will be returned to the environment.
The Victorian Water Trust has leveraged $20 million additional funding from the National Water Commission for stages 3-6 of the project, to extend channel automation to the southern and eastern zones of the Macalister Irrigation District.