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Macalister Irrigation District water demand surges, prompting delivery efforts and compliance monitoring

Water demand in the Macalister Irrigation District has nearly doubled. Gippsland Water urges customers to order efficiently, monitor usage, and comply with regulations to ensure fair water distribution and prevent unauthorised use.

By news@gippsland - 30th January 2025 - Back to News

Demand for water across the Macalister Irrigation District has almost doubled this season, when compared to the five-year average. We're working hard to get water delivered on time, with 83,000 megalitres of water delivered since August. This is an increase on the same time last year, where we delivered 56,377 megalitres and higher than the five-year average of 48,222 megalitres.

Thomson, Macalister River, and Rainbow Creek diverters must order via Waterline and take water as scheduled. Increased inspections ensure compliance

Managing water responsibly

While we've implemented a range of improvements across the network and operational protocols to enable us to maximise the full capacity of water flowing through our channels. We recognise that high demand can make it challenging for some customers, and we encourage you to speak with our planners if you have not been able to find a suitable time for a water delivery. We strongly encourage you to continue to order water following our recommended steps to maximise efficiency when ordering water.

We want to remind all customers that you are responsible for managing your water use and encourage you to regularly read your water meter to monitor use against your entitlement. We have a zero-tolerance approach to unauthorised water take, also known as water theft, and serious penalties apply for non-compliance.

Fair water use

Our automated system alerts us when water goes into a channel that does not have a confirmed order time associated with it. If you take water without a confirmed order and time, you are illegally taking someone else's water in the channel system. Our Compliance Officers will investigate these instances and any reports received from the public, irrigators and our field team.

Thomson and Macalister River and Rainbow Creek diverters should also order water either online through Waterline or via our automated Waterline phone service, and take water in line with their confirmed order time. We will be monitoring rivers and doing more inspections to detect water usage, including checking customers whose usage exceeded their entitlement in the previous irrigation season.

Water is a precious, finite resource and we are committed to ensuring it's shared fairly among all users. We're here to help, so if you need support managing your water or need to report something suspicious get in touch with us.

Pictures from Southern Rural Water website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com