Settlement of the Werribee River basin began with the development of Melbourne and, by the middle of the 1860s, private schemes to irrigate sections of farms with river frontages had been established. Because these schemes relied on natural river flows, however, they were limited in their extent and reliability.
Extensive survey works began in 1867 by the then Victorian Water Supply Department. When the survey was completed, an ambitious development proposal was put forward, but was never approved due to the high cost. Private irrigation schemes therefore continued for the next 30 years.
In April 1889, the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation and Water Supply Trust was formed. The irrigation district comprised of 283 hectares of land on the banks of Parwan Creek. Water was also supplied to the township of Bacchus Marsh.
Following this, the Lerderderg Irrigation Trust was formed in April 1890, to irrigate 810 hectares of river flats along the banks of the Lerderderg River. However, no works were constructed as the Trust decided that the expense involved could not be justified.
Under the provisions of the Water Act of 1905, the Lerderderg Irrigation Trust was abolished and the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation and Water Supply District was transferred to the newly-formed State Rivers and Water Supply Commission.
Development began under the control of the Water Commission. A new diversion weir on the Werribee River was completed in 1910 and a new main channel was completed in the following year. This channel increased the area supplied with water to 1,330 hectares. Supply channels to serve this additional area were completed in 1913.
The demand for irrigation supplies steadily increased and in 1911 Pykes Creek Reservoir the first storage on the Werribee River – was completed. An additional main channel was completed in 1929 to supply 400 hectares of high land adjacent to the older irrigation areas. The original channels were lined with concrete between 1920 and 1934.
In the early 1960s, a program of progressive pipe-lining began in the BMID. The main channel was progressively enlarged and its banks raised for a length of 300 metres near the township to prevent flooding of private land. In 1970, the township section was abandoned due to urban development.
What is individual carryover?
With individual carryover, all water held in the reservoirs will be allocated to you in the current season. Southern Rural Water will not store water for future years.
Any unused water in your Allocation Bank Account (ABA) will remain in your account for you to use in the new season, according to these rules:
The maximum volume of water that you can carry over from season to season is the total volume of your high and low reliability water shares. 15% is automatically taken off at the end of a season to account for the evaporation that occurs from the reservoirs.
In any season, the maximum volume that can be allocated to you is equal to the total volume of your water shares – this includes any carryover.


