![North South pipeline 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/North_South_pipeline_05.jpg)
The North–South Pipeline, also known as the Sugarloaf Pipeline, is a water
pipeline
Pipeline may refer to:
Electronics, computers and computing
* Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on
** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...
in Central
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia, northeast of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
that is part of Victoria's water system, acting as a link between Melbourne's water grid and the Murray-Goulburn water grid, supplying water via a series of existing and proposed pipelines. The 70-kilometre pipeline was connected to Melbourne in February 2010 to carry water from the
Goulburn River
The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victoria. ...
to Melbourne's
Sugarloaf Reservoir
Sugarloaf Reservoir is a reservoir at Christmas Hills 35 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district.
History
The structure was completed by Thiess Brothers in 1981, and has a total capacity of 96 gigalitres.
Sugarloaf Reservo ...
. It is the government's policy that it only be used in times of critical human need: when Melbourne's total water storages are less than 30% full on 30 November of any year.
[Melbourne Water]
North–South Pipeline
/ref> The pipeline can transfer a portion of Lake Eildon
The Eildon Dam or Eildon Weir, a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a controlled spillway across the Goulburn River, is located between the regional towns of and within Lake Eildon National Park, in the Alpine region of Victoria, Australi ...
's water that is set aside for Melbourne, called the critical water reserve. This was 38,400 megalitres at 2 June 2014, and any changes are based on Goulburn-Murray Water's advice.[
The North–South Pipeline was presented through the late 2000s as being part of the Victorian government's ''"Our Water, Our Future"'', which included other major projects such as the Wonthaggi desalination plant, the Cardinia Pipeline and a proposed interconnector to ]Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
.
The pipeline runs between a location on the Goulburn River, near Yea and heads south towards the Sugarloaf Reservoir north-east of Melbourne, along the Melba Highway
Melba Highway connects the outer eastern suburb of Coldstream, near Lilydale, and the town of Yea, in Victoria's Upper Goulburn on the Goulburn Valley Highway. The road is named after Dame Nellie Melba, a famed Australian opera singer of the ...
. The Goulburn River is a major tributary of the Murray Darling river system and major agricultural region, whilst Sugarloaf Reservoir is a major storage reservoir for Melbourne's water supply. The pipeline cost $750 million and was delivered under an alliance model between Melbourne Water, John Holland, SKM and GHD.
The pipeline is expected to add up to 75 billion litres annually to Melbourne's water supply, roughly one third of the 225 gigalitres (billion litres) proposed to be saved by irrigation and modernisation plans and projects in northern Victoria's Murray-Goulburn Irrigation District. The 225 gigalitres in savings is intended to be split 75 to Melbourne, 75 to irrigators and 75 to the watercourses themselves.
Context
In 2007, the Victorian Government announced the "Foodbowl Modernisation Plan" to save 225 gigalitres (GL) of water through a $1 billion investment in the Murray–Goulburn Gravity Irrigation Districts. This was later increased to $2 billion with another 200 GL of savings identified.
The Goulburn is Victoria's largest and longest river, accounting for an average annual flow of 3,040 GL. Of this, about 700 GL is used within the Goulburn-Broken basin, and a further 850 GL transferred to irrigation areas outside the basin. After transmission losses of about 670 GL, a net outflow from the basin to the Murray of 350 GL remains. The population of the basin from this source is given as 100,000. Including Shepparton, Echuca and the tributary Broken catchment- it is estimated at 250,000.
The notion of diverting water out of the Murray Darling Basin to provide urban water supply has stirred emotions among country and city residents. Diverting water between basins is not new however. The Snowy Mountains Scheme
The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...
diverts Snowy River
The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...
flows from its own catchment to the Murray Darling Basin in earlier decades. This source supplies 2,100 GL of water for generating power and providing irrigation water. This compares with the 75 GL contested water savings to be diverted out of the Basin for urban use.
Although most people in Victoria live in Melbourne, the city only uses 8% of the regulated surface water, the major portion going to irrigation supply. As of September 2009, Melbourne's water storages were less than 30% full prior to the onset of the drier summer period. This situation had generally worsened over the course of previous twelve years. Inflows into Melbourne's storages over that twelve-year period averaged almost 40% less than the previous long-term average.
As of 2009, consumption in Melbourne was about 450 GL /year. With decreasing inflows to its water catchments and continuing population growth, a shortfall of supply of up to 200 GL / year is anticipated by 2055. A number of strategies have been proposed, including reducing individual consumer demand, recycling "grey" water and sewerage, various means of conservation, and sourcing additional water from elsewhere: including the Goulburn River and Kilcunda desalination plant. The strategy proposes to meet the projected shortfall of demand over existing supply 42% from conservation, and 53% from additional sources.
South-eastern Australia experienced widespread drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
at the beginning of the 21st century, which has been linked to human-induced climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. This has impacted upon rainfall in the region. The amount of water in Melbourne's water storage dams decreased between 1998 and 2009, as a result of those droughts, despite frequent water-usage restrictions.
In June 2007, the Victorian Government released their water plan, ''Our Water Our Future''. As part of this plan, the government announced its intention to develop a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant and construct a pipeline to augment Melbourne's water supply, as well as other regional supply systems. With the completion of the pipeline and desalination plant, it is anticipated that certain water restrictions will be removed.
Route
The pipeline traverses a distance of approximately 70 km from a location on the Goulburn River
The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victoria. ...
, near Yea () and heads in a south-southeast direction towards the Sugarloaf Reservoir () northeast of Melbourne. The route travels roughly alongside the Melba Highway
Melba Highway connects the outer eastern suburb of Coldstream, near Lilydale, and the town of Yea, in Victoria's Upper Goulburn on the Goulburn Valley Highway. The road is named after Dame Nellie Melba, a famed Australian opera singer of the ...
, southwards, until it splits in its direction towards the reservoir.
The pipeline's route cuts through parts of the Kinglake National Park and Toolangi State Forest
The Toolangi State Forest region in southern Australia extends from Mount Monda in the south up to Murrindindi in the north and includes the township of Toolangi. The forest is mainly eucalypt forest that has regrown from the 1939 Victori ...
.
Criticism and opposition
The North–South Pipeline has been criticised by environmental groups, irrigators and communities directly affected by the pipeline, some suggesting that the project is politically influenced and founded on an incorrect interpretation of available data.[''D!ssent'', Article by Kenneth Davidson "Water Lies", Issue 31 Summer 09/10]
The Federal Opposition, Victorian Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, the National Party, and the Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
opposed the pipeline, with these objections detailed in the minority (dissenting) report section for the Water Amendment Bill 2008 (Saving the Goulburn and Murray Rivers), which also highlighted the many objections to the pipeline in the majority of submissions to the Senate Inquiry. Groups such as Plug the Pipe, the Victorian Farmers Federation, and Watershed Victoria also opposed the pipeline.
Greenhouse gas emissions over a 100-year life are estimated at 13.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
the vast majority of which is generated by pumping water over the Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
. The pipeline operator, Melbourne Water, states that only renewable energy is used for pumping and the system generates its own energy as water from the pipeline enters Sugarloaf Reservoir
On 20 October 2006 the Victorian Premier released a report "The Central Region Sustainable Water Strategy" in which the government claimed it wasn't viable to take water from the Goulburn Valley
The Goulburn Valley is a sub-region, part of the Hume region of the Australian state of Victoria. The sub-region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. ...
to Melbourne. The CSIRO has since released several reports of a similar opinion and has commented on the detrimental effect such a diversion may have on both the environment and the agricultural production.
Victorian Premier, Mr Brumby, has responded to criticisms saying, "Our estimates on the Food Bowl are actually quite conservative … Even in the dry years you've got 690 gigalitres of water lost," he said. "I'm more convinced than ever it's the right project
On 4 January 2010, ''The Age'' newspaper published an analysis showing that "Melbourne may never need water from the controversial north–south pipeline, with a stocktake showing existing storages and minimal rainfall should easily supply the city beyond the start of the desalination plant next year."
In the Victorian state election in November 2010 a new government led by the Liberal Party's Ted Baillieu was elected. Baillieu has declared that his government will shut down the pipeline.
Statistics withheld
Statistics relating to water saved by irrigation upgrades in the Goulburn-Murray district for the year to June 2009 were expected to be released by the State Government by the end of the year (31 December 2009). However, by 1 January 2010, the "Our Water Our Future" website still displayed the message that the savings would be released "before the end of 2009".[''The Age'', Peter Ker "No sign of water savings figures", January 1, 2010](_blank)
/ref>
As ''The Age'' reported; "A spokesman for Water Minister Tim Holding said the audited savings would be released "shortly", but neither he nor the Department of Sustainability and Environment could offer a specific reason for the delay."
Environmental effects
The Federal Government set conditions on construction of the pipeline under the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
In June, Friends of the Earth (FoE) released its report ''Out of sight, out of mind?''. The group's assessment of the ecological impacts of the North South pipeline claimed that a 12 kilometre long, 30 metre wide corridor cleared through the Toolangi State Forest had affected at least four Special Protection Zones (SPZ).
The Sugarloaf Pipeline Alliance prepared a compliance report on the pipeline which concluded that the known or possible habitats of a number of vulnerable species, including matted flax-lily, the golden sun moth, striped legless lizard, and growling grass frog
The growling grass frog (''Ranoidea raniformis''), also commonly known as the southern bell frog, warty swamp frog and erroneously as the green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to southeastern Australia, ranging from sout ...
had been compromised during the construction of the pipeline.
Project timeline
2006
*20 October – report released by the State Government "The Central Region Sustainable Water Strategy", which suggested it was not viable to take water from the Goulburn Valley to Melbourne.
2007
*The "Foodbowl Modernisation Plan" is announced by the State Government.
*June – the Victorian Government announces their intention to build the North–South Pipeline as part of the ''Our Water Our Future'' water plan.
2009
*31 December – Water savings from the Goulburn-Murray district irrigation upgrades expected to be released are withheld without explanation.
2010
*10 February – Pipeline is turned on at Sugarloaf Reservoir.
*7 September – Due to heavy Spring rains, flows through the pipeline were temporarily suspende
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20091014181953/http://www.sugarloafpipeline.com.au/
* https://web.archive.org/web/20080721045046/http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/programs/irrigation-renewal/nvirp
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090629061029/http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/current_projects/water_supply/sugarloaf_pipeline_project/sugarloaf_pipeline_project.asp
{{DEFAULTSORT:North-South Pipeline
Transport buildings and structures in Victoria (state)
Freshwater pipelines
Interbasin transfer
Water resource management in Victoria (state)