Millions of dollars will be put toward a much-needed upgrade of Central Victoria’s water infrastructure.
The project will see a total of $160 million spent over several years to improve the region’s rural water supply network, $120 million of which is being contributed by the Commonwealth.
Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt visited the region this week to make the announcement and view old channels behind the Bendigo Airport.
In an interview with Robbo on the Wake Up Call, Mr Watt said that part of the existing network dates back to the 1870s.
“And the problem is at the moment that, because a lot of the water in the area is transported through those open channels, rather than… closed pipes, we see about 80 percent of the water that comes through them lost to the system through evaporation, or leakage or seeping,” Mr Watt said.
He added that as we see the climate drying, we need to use “every drop of water that we’ve got”.
“So this investment is really about making sure that the Bendigo region – not just the town of Bendigo, but the Bendigo region as a whole – has much more reliable and sustainable water supply in the future.”
According to Coliban Water, the scheme – known officially as the “Coliban Rural Water Efficiency Project” – is the largest investment in the network since the goldrush of the 19th century, and the largest ever Commonwealth investment into a project within Bendigo.
It also aims to contribute to the federal government’s goal of putting more water back into the Murray-Darling Basin, with Central Victoria contributing 4.6 million litres of a proposed 450 million-litre target.
Asked by Robbo how long the project would take, Mr Watt said it would be rolled out over a “four- to five-year” period, with the next step involving community consultation with residents and landowners who live near the existing infrastructure.
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