By Peter Douglas
A recycled water project that would “future-proof” the local wine industry may not be a pipedream for much longer.
Minister for Water, Lisa Neville, and Monbulk MP James Merlino on Friday 27 October met with growers and landowners in the Yarra Valley, as well as Yarra Ranges Council representatives, to discuss the $15.6 million Coldstream Recycled Water Pipeline project.
Soumah of Yarra Valley hosted the dignitaries, who were also treated to a tour of the impressive vineyard in Gruyere.
The Victorian Government has submitted a business case to the Federal Government under the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund and is awaiting the outcome of the assessment process.
The application outlines a strong case for the Federal Government to invest $7.8 million, with the remainder of the project cost coming from local landholders in the region.
Viticulture manager at Soumah, Tim Knight, said water security was crucial to long-term viability for winegrowers in the region.
“This year, rainfall hasn’t been very good at all. We’ve had small rains of 17mm to 20mm. That gets the ground wet, but we need to get it flowing into the dams,” he said.
“Recently, we did have 17mm in 45 minutes, but it ran too fast. We’ve just spent $36,000 to put in more draining to catch more rainfall, because we need more insurance.
“With a new pipeline, it would give us security and flexibility for new plantings.”
There are 160 wineries in the region, with the proposed pipeline project to benefit many well-renowned wineries including Rochford, Giant Steps, Oakridge, Maddens Lane, Soumah and Levantine Hill.
Yarra Ranges councillor Jim Child said not only would water security be a win for the local industry, it could encourage further growth.
“The biggest win out of this is to get that water security to the farms out here. We’ve got a take-up of 50 growers at the moment,” Cr Child said.
“But what we see is that vision for this precinct … the land could see future agriculture aspects that could be established. And the key to that is water security.”
Ms Neville shared the sentiment of water security stimulating industry growth.
“There’s no question … water is a central determination of future investment and things have changed in the last 10 to 20 years in terms of rainfall levels,” she said.
“The spring period has been well below average rainfall in Melbourne. Melbourne will see somewhere between 30 per cent to 40 per cent below average rainfall levels over the next 20 years, so security is absolutely a project that stacks up.
“We have a number of projects we have funded, and also put in to the Commonwealth, and this is up there as one of our number ones in terms of what we think the Commonwealth should be supporting.”
Mr Merlino agreed the pipeline would be a boon for the region.
“The Yarra Valley produces some of the best wine in the world – this project will be a win for tourism, jobs and the local economy,” he said.
