News

Metering upgrades progressing well for SMP

Mon, 09 Jun 2014 10:08:00

Crews are closing in on one of the early milestones in the Sunraysia Modernisation Project (SMP),the biggest upgrade of  irrigation infrastructure in the district’s history.

The $120 million SMP is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth and Victorian State Governments and Lower Murray Water and involves a program of works to modernise the Mildura, Red Cliffs and Merbein irrigation districts.
Project Director, Mr Mike Walsh said tenders were released this week for the major components of the project, the upgrading of district pumping stations and construction of new pipeline.
“However, property-owners in some areas were already seeing work underway with the installation and upgrading of approximately 3500 water meters across the district,” Mr Walsh said.
“One aspect of the project is upgrading or installing new meters for approximately 2500 Domestic and Stock customers and 1200 irrigation customers,” he said.
“That means all old style mechanical irrigation meters will be upgraded to electromagnetic flow meters.”
Mr Walsh said the upgrades and new installations would allow the Sunraysia district to meet the required national metering standards.
“The upgrade of meters also brings some benefits for operating the irrigation system as a whole, and for irrigators,” he said.
“It means real-time metering information will be available to both customers and Lower Murray Water and offers the potential for more efficiency across the system and on-farm.”
SMP Officers are meeting with landholders ahead of the work and installations are now underway.  It is planned for 10 % of the installations to be finished by June 30 and the balance to be completed by late next year.
Much of district’s irrigation infrastructure is 50 to 100 years old, and the SMP represents the biggest upgrade of the irrigation infrastructure in the district’s history.  The SMP is to be completed without additional cost to irrigators.

For more information about the SMP please visit our website www.lmw.vic.gov.au or contact our office 50510797.  Look out for us on twitter @lowmurwater and keep up to date with all our programs and initiatives.