Glenmaggie Dam is a major storage that supplies hundreds of farms in the Macalister Irrigation District with the water they need to grow food and fibre.
We need to refurbish one of two needle valves in the valve house of the dam. These critical pieces of infrastructure are essential for regulating water flows from the lake to the Main Southern Channel for irrigation and the Macalister River for environmental flow purposes.
The valves are large, and the refurbishment needs to be completed by experts in a controlled workshop environment. We will remove Needle Valve 1 and transport it offsite to be refurbished ahead of the 2026-27 irrigation season.
These works are planned to take place on Wednesday 18 March and will require us to shut down the Main Southern Channel for 24-hours.
Important customer information about the works
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Why the Main Southern Channel needs to shut down
To enable the safe removal of Needle Valve 1, we need to isolate and dewater the dissipater – meaning we need to shut down the Main Southern Channel on Wednesday, 18 March.
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Who will be affected
The shut down will temporarily suspend water supply only to customers supplied from the Main Southern Channel in Tinamba, Riverslea, Nambrok and Heyfield areas. Customers in Nambrok/Denison will experience reduced capacity. All other channels will operate as normal.
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When supply will return
Supply to the Main Southern Channel will be reinstated on Thursday, 19 March. If any unforeseen circumstances arise that affect this timing we will notify you immediately.
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How to prepare
No orders will be delivered during this period so please plan your water use and place orders around these dates.
We encourage you to work with our water planners if you have any concerns during this time.
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Who we’re working with
We are partnering with specialist maintenance contractors, Uptime Services Management, to complete the refurbishment works
Thank you for your patience
We acknowledge that interruptions to water supply, even planned ones, can be challenging and we appreciate your patience during our critical dam infrastructure works.
We’re here to help
If you wish to lodge a complaint, Southern Rural Water is committed to responding or passing on complaints or feedback as appropriate.
Please call 1300 139 510 or email srw@srw.com.au
For more information about our service standards and obligations to our customers, please read our Customer Charter.
More about needle valves
Needle valves, sometimes referred to as plunger valves, are regulating valves that enable engineers to finely control and regulate water flow and pressure.
The precision is achieved through the fine movement of the shaft, which enables the gearbox to move the piston tube in a sliding motion towards opening or closing position, depending on the requirements of the control system.
Our needle valves were made in the 1950s in Germany by renowned engineering and manufacturer Bopp and Reuther. Each one weighs 18 tonnes and were installed at Glenmaggie dam in 1956.
They were in continuous service until 1988-89 when both valves were removed for major refurbishment works. Needle Valve 1 was refurbished again in 2000, followed by Needle Valve 2 in 2001.
The latest refurbishment works will ensure Needle Valve 1 remains in good working order into the future.