NVIRP is being undertaken through two stages.
Stage 1
Under the new funding arrangement between the State and Commonwealth Governments, signed in October 2011, Stage 1 of the project will be funded by contributions from the Victorian Government ($600 million initial contribution and $100 Million from a portion of the funds relevant to the sale of 102 GL of water associated with NVIRP2) and Melbourne Water ($300 Million). This stage commenced in 2008 and will be completed in 2018.
The objectives of Stage 1 are to:
- deliver a long-term average of 225GL of annual project generated water by July 2018 to be shared equally between the irrigators, the environment and other funding contributors
- deliver a modernised backbone channel water distribution system
- connect approximately 30% of those customers currently supplied by smaller spur channels to the backbone channel via a modern connection and
- upgrade metering (including real time measurement) on up to 50 per cent of customer supply points, by July 2018.
We are now more than halfway through Stage 1 physical works and much has been achieved to date, with the project being on target to deliver the $1 billion program of modernisation works. As at the completion of the 2010-2011 Winter Works Program in August 2011, the following works had been completed:
- Automation of over 90 per cent of the channel backbone system
- Installation of over 2 700 FlumeGatesTM
- Installation of over 3 000 new on-farm meters and
- Remediation of approximately 117 kilometres of backbone channel.
Stage 2
The Commonwealth and Victorian Governments are providing funding of $1.059 billion for Stage 2 of NVIRP, which will be delivered concurrently with Stage 1 from late 2011/early 2012 and be completed in 2018. The Commonwealth Government is contributing $953 million and $106 million from a portion of the funds associated with the sale of 102 GL of water associated with NVIRP2.
The Stage 2 project is to raise the efficiency of the GMID system to over 85% generating a long-term average of 204GL of annual water savings from reduced distribution losses. These savings are to be transferred to the Commonwealth Government for environmental uses making a significant Victorian contribution to bridging the gap to Sustainable Diversion Limits under the soon to be released Draft Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The works to be implemented under Stage 2 include:
- Metering: installation of 5900 national measurement standard compliant irrigation meters many of which will be fully automated with remote monitoring.
- Connections: development of new connections solutions for 3,400 customers currently supplied by smaller spur channels and not dealt with in Stage 1. This also provides for new on-farm infrastructure and restructuring incentives for customers wishing to retire land from irrigation.
- Backbone modernisation: complete the modernisation of the remaining backbone areas.
- Channel lining: lining of 70 km of high loss pools in the areas that were outside of the project area in Stage 1.
- Service enhancement projects: construction of a number of projects to improve service standards in the GMID including key bottlenecks in the Torrumbarry irrigation area.
- Environmental enhancement projects: implementation of projects to enhance key environmental assets in the GMID including construction of a fishway at Box Creek.