Sunraysia
The Sunraysia region, near Mildura, encompasses the Merbein, Red Cliffs and Robinvale pumped irrigation districts of Lower Murray Urban and Rural Water together with the pumped irrigation district of the former First Mildura Irrigation Trust.
Much of the irrigation infrastructure in the Sunraysia region was constructed between 50 and 100 years ago and was designed to provide a lower level of service than is currently required by irrigators in the region.
The Sunraysia Irrigation Project aims to improve the effectiveness of existing irrigation systems in the region. As part of this project the Victorian Water Trust is investing $20 million in the Robinvale District Project to replace ageing concrete lined channels and ‘leaky’ low-pressure pipelines in the 2,700 ha Robinvale district with state of the art, high-pressure pipelines that will improve system reliability and deliver water 365 days a year. The project is also being supported with $20.5 million from Lower Murray Water, which is responsible for implementing the works.
The works are scheduled to be completed in winter 2009. The project will deliver water savings of up to 1.5 billion litres each year to the environment.