Tomorrow (May 15) is the final day of the irrigation season and the final day before our Winter Works program begins.
Our Winter Works program occurs in between irrigation seasons and represents a brief period of time when we do not have our usual water delivery obligations. This allows us to adjust channel levels to complete various maintenance activities such as weeding, desilting, and channel repairs.
These works are crucial to the efficiency and reliability of our delivery network, so we always prepare extensively to ensure our Winter Works program is as productive as possible.
This year will be the fifth Winter Works program that we have undertaken since I joined Goulburn-Murray Water in 2019.
We were able to condense a lot of work into just a few months back then, but due to various innovations and efficiencies, we are now able to achieve significantly more during the program.
Our aquatic weed treatment program is an essential part of our winter works, and the way it has evolved in recent years exemplifies the improvements we have made.
Previously, there was a lack of herbicides that were cost-effective and safe for native fish as well as other wildlife. Consequently, we used to treat about 5km of channel for weeds each year.
While not an insignificant amount, we have about 6000km of channel in our delivery network. It was therefore clear that finding a way to expand the program would be highly beneficial for both the weed treatment program and our customers.
Over a number of years, we worked closely with suppliers to learn of any new, environmentally friendly herbicides on the market, and of any ways we can support their development.
In 2021, this work culminated in the trial of a new herbicide along with several different methods of dispersing it. The success of these trials transformed our weed treatment program.
We now treat hundreds of kilometres of channels each year.
Furthermore, the herbicides we use have very low toxicity to humans and mammals, and there has not been a single fish death recorded since we began using them in 2021.
Our streamflow data shows this treatment is significantly improving the flow rates of our deliveries, and by the end of the upcoming Winter Works program, we will have treated about 600km of channels in just three years.
We are still in search of further improvements.
During this year’s Winter Works program, we will trial spraying weeds using drones in various difficult-to-access locations, and we continue to process data to see how we can better determine which parts of our channel network are most in need of being treated.
This data-driven approach is extended to our broader Winter Works program and the projects we prioritise.
Our water system operators have developed a method where they can determine when our automated assets — such as meters and regulators — are nearing the end of their lifespan.
This means that during the Winter Works program, we can work on replacing and repairing these assets and ensure they get fixed before they fail, ensuring there is minimal inconvenience to our customers.
Our surveying methods have also evolved greatly in recent years.
We have expanded our use of drones, and laser imaging to ensure we have far more accurate data when it comes to our delivery network and our infrastructure.
The information these surveying methods provide us with is not only useful for individual projects but also ensures we have detailed records we can utilise for future projects.
The culmination of all these innovations means we can achieve considerably more during our Winter Works program than what we could just a few years ago.
During the program, there may be changed traffic conditions in some locations, and an increase of heavy machinery on back roads, so it is important everyone takes extra care while on the road.
For more information about Winter Works, including an interactive map of where works are happening, visit: https://www.g-mwater.com.au/winter-works
Charmaine Quick is Goulburn-Murray Water’s managing director.