Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI) has announced its modernisation works on the Sturt Canal and south-western parts of the network are drawing to a close. 

Maintenance on the Main Canal is also almost finished. Sturt Canal, Benerembah, Wah Wah, Tabbita, and Warburn will commence refilling on August 6.

It will take up to a week for supply to reach all these sections of the network, while the Main Canal will resume full supply by August 6. 

MI chief executive officer Brett Jones thanked affected irrigators for their patience during the extended modernisation works.

“This has been a once in a life time opportunity to modernise these parts of our network and set up the region for the future,” he said.

In future years, rather than shutting down the entire network over the winter period, MI has said it will move towards maintaining an ongoing supply.

“This was how we operated the Main Canal this winter,” Mr Jones said.

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“As soon as all the modernisation works have been rolled out across the MIA over the coming years, this is how we will operate our network every winter.” 

These changes allow MI to be more responsive to irrigators critical water needs throughout the entire year. 

“Sections will still need to be drained to allow for annual maintenance and some capital works and winter is the most suitable time for us to do this, to minimise impacts on irrigators,” Mr Jones said.

MI is also continuing work in Leeton shire to extend the life of several channel networks.

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