Major Projects Quarterly Report
By Jacob Gerke, General Manager Major Projects

The public / private funding partnership between the Tasmanian and Australian Governments and Tasmanian landowners is enabling a number of new irrigation projects to be progressed by Tasmanian Irrigation:

Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme
The Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme is fast approaching completion. About 147 kilometres of the 152km of pipeline have now been installed on this 25,500-megalitre project.

The Valleyfield balance tank has been completed and is ready for hydrostatic testing, and the Poatina balance tank is 98 per cent completed.

The Poatina buffer dam is now full, and the Poatina pump station has also been completed and has commenced pumping water. The pump station will now be used to assist with pipeline filling and testing across the scheme. The Valleyfield pump station is 98 per cent complete, the Epping Forest pump station is 85 per cent complete and property outlet telemetry installations are underway.

The Hydro Tasmania Poatina shut down for maintenance is booked in from 12 July to
1 October. The Tasmanian Irrigation project team is working to mitigate the impacts of this outage on delivery of first water from the scheme by undertaking pre-commissioning works now.

Essential information on Farm Water Access Plans

Work on Farm Water Access Plans (Farm WAPs) for the Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme continues to progress, with Stage Three field surveys and ecological assessments due to commence in June 2026. These assessments help identify and manage environmental considerations associated with irrigation development and support the long-term sustainability of irrigation across the Northern Midlands region.

It’s essential that Farm WAPs are in place for all properties receiving Tasmanian Irrigation water before water can be delivered to farming properties. For information on the Farm WAP process, including guidance materials and frequently asked questions, visit the Tasmanian Irrigation website Farm WAPs - Tasmanian Irrigation or contact the Farm WAP team at FarmWAP@tasirrigation.com.au. Additional Farm WAP information specific to NMIS can be found here: Farm WAPs in the Northern Midlands - Tasmanian Irrigation.

Tasmanian Irrigation is very thankful for the ongoing communication and collaboration with farmers, contractors, Hydro Tasmania and all other stakeholders to ensure the project is ready to deliver water in time for the 2026/27 irrigation season.

Elizabeth River crossing

Poatina buffer dam filling

Poatina balance tank

Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation
The 9,200 megalitre augmentation of the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme will bring the scheme’s total summer capacity to 14,860 megalitres, delivering additional and new water to farmers in this highly-productive region.

The project is well underway, with approximately 20 kilometres of pipe now in the ground out of 102kms. Four crews are currently working across the Sassafras, Trunk and Moriarty lines.

Another crew is working on the delivery line to the Saggers Hill balance tank. The Great Bend pump station shut down works are well underway, with the switch room cleaned out ready for repairs and fit out, the rock wall descaled and the old transformers removed and apron cut from the building. The temporary pumping set up is on track to be completed prior to the opening of the 2026/27 irrigation season, minimising disruption to our customers.

Construction of the Saggers Hill balance tank access track is making good progress also.

The project is preparing for sales of winter water entitlement in the second half of 2026. The team will be engaging with all landowners to ascertain their requirements for water in the winter season between April to September each year.

The SWISA project is expected to be completed in October 2027.

Moriarty rehabilitated

Saggers Hill balance tank access road

Greater South East Irrigation Scheme
Recruitment of the GSEIS project team has been largely completed and we would like to introduce them to you. Our three Senior Landowner Liaison Officers are Murray Rutherford, Mel Woolley and Bob Hart. Murray is responsible for water sales and interfacing with the customers who have purchased large allocations. Bob covers the landowners west of the Midland Highway and Mel covers the landowners east of the Midland Highway.

Gordon Williams recently joined Tasmanian Irrigation as the Environmental Manager (Projects) and one of his responsibilities will be to obtain the environmental and planning approvals for this project. He is assisted by Steph Holterhoff. Gordon and Steph recently held senior environmental roles with McConnel Dowell on the Bridgewater Bridge project.

We have a blended engineering team doing the design of the project, consisting of Hugh Abetz and David Climie from Tasmanian Irrigation and Brock Nadler, Liam Guest and Chris Thompson (Thommo) from Pinion Advisory. Collectively they have vast extensive experience in the irrigation sector.

Ayla, our Project Officer, is the hub of our team and manages the many admin tasks for us. And Tracey Taylor, Tasmanian Irrigation’s Project Communication and Engagement Manager, will also be working with our project team. Tracey brings experience in stakeholder engagement across Tasmania’s primary industry sectors through a range of roles over many years. She will be focused on supporting engagement and communication as projects move through development and construction, working with project managers and stakeholders to help ensure landowners and communities have clear information as projects progress.

Design of the GSEIS project is continuing. The main activities this month are to do geotechnical investigations at the pump station site on the shore of Lake Meadowbank. During May and June, we will be carrying out environmental and heritage surveys of selected areas of the pipeline route to assist with designing the scheme. We are in the process of contacting affected landowners to arrange access for these surveys.     

The GSEIS Team…
L-R back row - Liam Guest, Chris Thompson, Gordon Williams, Andrew Pattle, Brock Nadler, David Climie and Hugh Abetz

Front row - Tracey Taylor, Mel Woolley, Murray Rutherford and Ayla Richardson

Absent - Bob Hart and Steph Holterhoff

Environmental assessment and approvals for the GSEIS

You may have seen recent media commentary about the potential impact of water extraction for the GSEIS on the health of the Derwent River.

Tasmanian Irrigation has an in-principle agreement to purchase water from Hydro Tasmania from Lake Meadowbank, upstream of Meadowbank Dam, that will be delivered via underground pipes to irrigators on the Greater South East Irrigation Scheme when commissioned.

The annual volume for GSEIS irrigation at full capacity is approximately 1.3 per cent of the historic average total annual inflows to Meadowbank Dam. The maximum volume of water the GSEIS will use is 1.1 per cent of total Meadowbank Dam inflows during the winter irrigation season and 1.6 per cent in the summer irrigation season.

Hydro Tasmania has confirmed that the GSEIS, once commissioned, will not affect its ability to meet its existing downstream summer and winter flow commitments in the Derwent River.

As the project progresses, the GSEIS will undergo rigorous assessment under both State and Commonwealth environmental legislation, including assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which includes a public consultation process.

We have sought offers from specialist environmental firms to prepare the documentation for assessment of the project under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Read Tasmanian Irrigation’s media release: Environment is a priority for Greater South East Irrigation Scheme - Tasmanian Irrigation