Southern Rural Water is seeking expressions of interest from farmers in the Nullawarre region to participate in a program designed to support drought-recovery in the nearby Heytesbury region.
The Farmer Helping Farmer initiative calls an opportunity for farmers with existing private groundwater bores in Nullawarre to work with Southern Rural Water on options to provide water access to nearby farmers in need.
Southern Rural Water Managing Director Cameron FitzGerald encouraged farmers in the region to help explore effective options.
“This is an opportunity for local farmers, with local knowledge, to shape a drought response that could benefit the region for many years to come,” he said.
“Although we’ve seen a slight improvement in conditions in recent months, we still want to support farmers through their recovery curve. Particularly through the upcoming summer period.”
Delivered through $2.5 million in Victorian Government funding, this initiative was informed by input from members of the Premier’s Drought Taskforce, and forms part of a broader drought response.
If the pilot is successful, expansion opportunities could be explored in similar drought-stressed areas across southern Victoria.
The Heytesbury region has been targeted because it’s one of the most water-stressed regions in Victoria, and because it’s close to the South-West Limestone Aquifer. This presents an opportunity to better utilise this high-quality, drought-resilient resource, through the upgrading of existing private infrastructure.
For now, we are calling on landholders in the Nullawarre and Heytesbury regions to provide local knowledge and help develop effective water-security innovations.
A drop-in session will be held at the Nirranda Football Netball Club clubrooms from 4pm to 6pm on Wednesday, 17 September. An online session will also be available between 4pm to 6pm on Monday, 15 September. To register to attend the online session and further details about the program, visit our project page.