The Wah Wah Stock and Domestic Pipeline Project (WWSD) has reached a milestone with construction of the Gunbar water pipeline now underway.
The WWSD will supply pressurised piped water to 62 properties in the Wah Wah district in NSW, which covers 310,000 hectares from Carrathool to Hay in the south, and from Gunbar to Booligal in the north.
MI Chairman, Frank Sergi, said project works will include the construction of a 270km Gunbar Water Pipeline and private pipelines, as well as pumping stations and outlets.
“The current supply system is inefficient with water conveyed from Barren Box Storage along the Wah Wah main channel and into 1,590km of earth channels, to fill more than 600 in-ground tanks on the properties,” Mr Sergi said.
“With the new pipeline Wah Wah customers will benefit through improved levels of service, with year-round access to the river and bores, pressurised water supply and measured water use, which can be remotely monitored.”
Chairman of the Gunbar Water Steering Committee, local farmer Don Low, said it was pleasing to reach this significant milestone in the project.
“This is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to receive filtered Murrumbidgee river water,” Mr Low said.
“In a couple of years we will look back and believe the pipeline is the best thing to happen to this area.”
Mr Low thanked members of the Committee for volunteering their time to work closely with MI, the contractor Comdain, and other local stakeholders, in the lead up to this point.
“We have always looked at what was best for the community, not the individual,” he said.
“We wanted to end up with something that we could be proud of and look forward to Comdain completing the project to a great standard.”
Mr Sergi also thanked Hay and Carrathool Shire Councils for their cooperation in the lead up to the works.
Comdain have set up an office at the main pump station site, with over 40 people being employed once the pipe laying starts.
Comdain CEO, Peter Coen, said, “At Comdain, we take pride in doing things well.”
“We believe best practice construction delivers value on multiple levels that includes delivering projects safely, on time, to the required quality, on budget, and with excellent environmental, customer and community stakeholder outcomes.”
In 2017, Wah Wah farmers started, and in some cases completed, on-farm works ready for connection to the Gunbar Water Pipeline in late 2018.
