The Mulwala Canal is an

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

in the southern

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is the largest irrigation canal in the Southern Hemisphere. The canal, starting at

Lake Mulwala Lake Mulwala, a manmade reservoir created through the construction of the Yarrawonga Weir across the Murray River, is located between and in Hume region of Victoria and in the Riverina region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The weir ...

, diverts water from the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

across the southern Riverina plain to the

Edward River Edward River, or Kyalite River, an anabranch of the Murray River and part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales, Australia. The river rises at Picnic Point east of Mathoura, a ...

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

. The canal is 156 km long. The channel has an offtake capacity of 10,000 megalitres (ML) per day and annually supplies over 1,000,000 ML to in the

Murray Irrigation Area The Murray Irrigation Area is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales, between Mulwala and Moulamein. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. ...

. The canal was constructed between 1935 and 1942. As well as water for agriculture, the canal also provides water for the southern Riverina towns of Berrigan, Finley, Bunnaloo and

Wakool Wakool is a town in the western Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Wakool is in the Murray River Council local government area, south west of the state capital, Sydney and north-west of Melbourne. At the , Wakool had a population ...

. Pacific Hydro operate

The Drop Hydro The Drop Hydro Power Station is a Pacific Hydro hydroelectric power station on the Mulwala Canal, near Berrigan, New South Wales, Australia. It has one turbine, with a generating capacity of of electricity. The power station was completed in ...

hydroelectric power station on the canal, near Berrigan. The power station, with a generating capacity of 2.5 MW of electricity, is Australia's first hydroelectric power station on an irrigation canal.

References

External links

{{commonscat
Murray Irrigation Limited
— the operator of the canal Irrigation in Australia Murray River Rivers in the Riverina Canals in Australia Canals opened in 1942 1942 establishments in Australia

See also

References

External links