Trangie Nevertire Irrigation Scheme receives international water saving award

TNIS chairman Jim Winter along with treasurer Tony Quigley recently received the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, waster-save award for 2019 in Bali, Indonesia.

The 100,000-hectare scheme of mixed farming enterprises on the Macquarie River is owned and managed by member-owned organisation TNIS. Opened in 1973 the scheme supports almost 21,450 hectares of irrigation.

The modernisation of the irrigation scheme saw members trade 30,000 megalitres of permanent water savings to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder for $115 million funding to upgrade current infrastructure to minimise water losses.

The project included five major elements including the installation of a 230 kilometre stock and domestic pressurised pipe over the entire system; reducing the earthen channel system from 240km to 130km permanently retiring 17 members from irrigation; restructuring and reshaping the 138 kilometre channel, lining 108 kilometres with a Firestone rubber membrane; and modernising remaining members' on-farm irrigation infrastructure and changing retired members farms back to a dryland basis.

"I'm still amazed at what we've done," Mr Winter said.

"Little communities like Nevertire and Trangie, a bunch of farmers can put this thing together.

"And it really stemmed from the idea that we needed to do something, we got to the point where we were self destructing and needed to do something.

"Luckily we had a committee at the time that were really focused on it, almost all the members were all keen and I suppose it just shows what people pulling together and working together can achieve."

After almost 10 years in the making the project was completed in 2014. Water losses had originally averaged 20-50 per cent, however now average only seven or less per cent.

"It's given a lot more confidence to the people," Mr Winter explained.

"Not many people in the past would buy much water and bring on this scheme because they'd loose so much water.

"Last year we had a summer crop, in the past the irrigation scheme wouldn't have even opened the pumps up because there wouldn't have been enough water because of the losses.

"Now we can actually run in very low use, and as I've said it's given people more confidence to trade or buy water on and off because they know they aren't going to loose as much, which flows through the community."

Mr Winter said as well as reducing water losses, the project has a much higher level of of service delivery for irrigation and crop use and delivers clean pressurised stock and domestic water which is available every day of the year.

"Our members are happy and secure in the knowledge there is another 50 years of productive irrigated agriculture ahead of them," he said.