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Midlands Water Scheme
Volume:
38,500ML
Project cost:
$88.15m
Irrigable area:
38,500ha
Communities benefiting:
Ross, Tunbridge, Oatlands, Mt Seymour, Jericho, Kempton

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Project Aim

To support the expansion of agriculture in the Tasmanian midlands through provision of high surety water to irrigable land lying within an extended region including Ross and Oatlands to as far south as Kempton.
 

The scheme is based on a 110km pipeline taking water from Arthurs Lake. The proposed scheme design includes several branch mains, including one which takes water from Oatlands to Lower Marshes to supply additional flow to the Jordan River to benefit farmers in the Jordan valley as far south as Kempton. The capacity of the Arthurs Lake pipeline to Mt Seymour (just south of Oatlands) is 31,000ML for an irrigable area of about 34,000ha. The capacity of the upper Jordan extension is 7,500ML for an irrigable area of about 8,500ha.
 

The Arthurs Lake Pipeline does not require additional water to be taken from the lake. It will use water which Hydro Tasmania has agreed to forgo for power generation purposes. There will be no additional draw-down on Arthurs Lake as a result of the Midlands Water Scheme.





Project Status

The Arthurs Lake Pipeline from the lake to the upper Jordan is at the Pre-construction and Tendering stage. The pipeline route has been determined to an accuracy of ± 50m. The resultant 100m corridor has been extensively studied for a range of environmental, heritage and scientific considerations. An extension of the pipeline to Jericho and the upper Jordan areas has been approved as an augmentation of the original Buisness Case.

A proposal for a separate pipeline to the Campbell Town and Ross regions using water harvested in winter from the South Esk River is no longer part of current plans due to lack of demand from potential irrigators.





Next Stage

 

The schedule is for the pipeline to have completed all design and approvals by December 2010 with construction complete by November 2012. The TIDB is currently working together with the irrigators representative groups to determine the timeframe for water entitlement sales which are required before final design can occur.




Further Information

The TIDB's Midlands Water Scheme project manager is Sven Meyer on 6233 6661 or at sven.meyer@tidb.com.au

A sheet outlining the indicative annual costs of the Midlands Water Scheme is available here: Midlands Water Scheme_annual costs.pdf

An example of a Water Access Plan for a farm near Tunbridge is available here: Midlands WAP example.pdf (1.7MB)
If you have a slower internet connection, you may prefer to access the WAP in two parts: Midlands WAP example Part 1.pdf (733KB)    Midlands WAP example Part 2.pdf (1MB)
 

More information is available in the latest Midland Water Scheme newsletter here: Midlands Newsletter_June 2010.pdf
 

You can read the previous newsletter here: 
Midlands Newsletter - December 2009.pdf
Midlands Newsletter - August 2009 



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