Many hands make light work on Channels this Winter!

Those lucky enough to squeeze in a short getaway these Easter holidays may be surprised to see construction work compounds setup at many of the channels throughout the Mildura district.

As part of the $37.9 million Sunraysia Water Efficiency Project (SWEP), funded by the Australian Government under the Off-farm Efficiency Program, Lower Murray Water (LMW) have appointed six construction contractors to deliver the program this winter.

In order to deliver the remaining huge work program at the least impactful time of year, the SWEP team has broken the program into a series of smaller packages, which will happen concurrently during the upcoming winter shutdown period.

LMW invited proposals for these packages from the construction industry and were very pleased by the strength and calibre of the responses.

The contractors we have appointed are all highly experienced and capable. They represent a mixture of locally based companies supplemented by others from across the State. “We are thrilled to have so many experienced local contractors involved in delivering around five times more channel lining work this winter compared to what the team completed last year under the Project” said SWEP Project Director, Daniel Freitag.

Having engaged extensively with customers about their water requirements for this winter, LMW have now finalised the 2024 Channel Shutdown Schedule. “We are really grateful for the strong response from community when we engaged on the draft shutdown. It meant we were able to adjust the shutdowns to reduce as many known impacts as possible” said SWEP Project Director, Daniel Freitag. The schedule, maps, and a report on the engagement undertaken to inform the schedule can all be found on the irrigation season dates page.

LMW needs to drain the channels to allow these works to happen. While channel shutdowns happen most years, due to the significant scale of works this winter, there will be more shutdowns this year than usual.

Landowners across Mildura, Merbein and Red Cliffs districts can expect to be contacted by our contractors over the coming weeks and months to coordinate works on or near their properties.

Customers, including Domestic and Stock users, are encouraged to check out the schedule early and start planning for this winter. This would include planning to fill tanks and dams ahead of the shutdowns starting. For any questions, customers are encouraged to email the team at swep@lmw.vic.gov.au  or call 1800 808 830 and ask to speak to the SWEP team.