Winter's lighter irrigation demand gave us the perfect window to get ahead on major works to boost reliability for farmers in Werribee and Bacchus Marsh.
Temporarily shutting down both irrigation districts in July, we completed vital upgrades of ageing assets to protect water supply for our customers.
We replaced the 90-year-old Penstock Gate 2 valve at the Werribee River offtake, which is where water flows into the district from the Werribee River – with farm water orders released from Southern Rural Water storages upstream.
The old cast iron valve was showing its age – with corrosion and misalignment impacting its performance. It was a single point of risk, as one of only two penstock gates supplying water that’s needed to grow $187 million vegetable crops in the Werribee Irrigation District each year.
The new Penstock Gate 2 is designed to last, as well as being automated – meaning we can monitor and control the new gate remotely. This enables greater water flow efficiency and will help us integrate the Werribee Irrigation District into a Total Channel Control system.
In Werribee South, we solved a similar ageing problem on Spur 5A–5-1, replacing a leak-prone 90-degree bend and installing a new stretch of pipeline.
Over in the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District, on Spur 2 and Spur 2–2, crews renewed critical pipeline sections that had a habit of failing – with additional complexity given the location, involved tree protection zones, an on-site arborist and erosion controls. Finally, just along the network on Spur 5 we replaced ageing valves with brand new ones.
To watch videos:
- Improving water delivery to Werribee farms, click here.
- Future fit water for Bacchus Marsh growers, click here.
For more about the 2026 Winter Works projects in Werribee and Bacchus Marsh, see our article Behind the scenes of our busy winter works program.