Growing Tasmania’s agricultural value through irrigation

Tasmanian farmers will benefit from an additional 80,000 megalitres of high-surety water per year

thanks to five irrigation schemes being designed in partnership between Tasmanian Irrigation,

professional services company GHD and Pinion Advisory.

The projects are part of the Tranche Three program, a joint investment between the Australian

Government, Tasmanian Government and Tasmanian farmers to develop 10 irrigation schemes across

agricultural areas of Tasmania. Funding is confirmed for the first five projects, with further funding to be

sought for the remaining five schemes.

The benefits of the new irrigation schemes will have a massive flow on for farmers and communities.

Current infrastructure limitations in some parts of Tasmania mean that water is not distributed efficiently

for agriculture. Access to irrigation water will give landholders confidence to value-add, diversify and

expand to incorporate new higher-value enterprises, such as viticulture or dairy.

In total the program and its 10 schemes will double Tasmania’s current irrigation capacity of 133,314

megalitres.

Tasmanian Irrigation Chief Executive Officer Andrew Kneebone said the Company had sought a

partnership with the design industry to strengthen its ability to design and deliver irrigation projects that

met irrigators’ needs, whilst simplifying its offering to the construction industry.

“Tasmanian Irrigation welcomes the strength and innovation of the GHD and Pinion Advisory unique

design partnership, which will reduce duplication, enhance cross-scheme learnings, simplify procedures

and provide more certainty to contractors,” Mr Kneebone said.

“Design specifications have been standardised for engineering, hydraulics, electrical plans, pumps,

pipelines and dams, leading to a more consistent system control and data acquisition, as well as

assisting with water delivery and asset management operations.”

The integrated approach will ensure each scheme is economically viable, environmentally sustainable

and is developed in collaboration with local communities. GHD and Pinion Advisory will focus on the

design of infrastructure including the pipelines, tanks, dams and pump stations associated with the

Tranche Three projects. They will also provide technical support during early project phases and

construction and commissioning.

Brad Davie, GHD’s Design Manager for the partnership says, “Our approach will draw on the collective

capability of GHD, Pinion Advisory and Tasmanian Irrigation to form an integrated team with a shared

vision to create lasting community benefit.

“These schemes will ultimately unlock water for the State and help farmers meet the growing on-farm

production demand, so we are thrilled to be able to bring our skills together in this multi-year partnership

and strategically design the schemes to do just this,” adds Brad.

The design partnership will initially focus on the following Tranche Three projects:

• Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme (NMIS)

• Fingal Irrigation Scheme (FIN)

• South East Integration Project (SEIP)

• Tamar Irrigation Scheme (TIS)

• Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation (SWISA)

Tranche Three follows on from Tasmanian Irrigation’s successful delivery of Tranche One and Tranche Two.

Contact
Sarah Hirst, Tasmanian Irrigation sarah@sarahhirststrategy.com.au
0448 906021

Kirill Reztsov, GHD Kirill.Reztsov@ghd.com
+61 2 9239 7175

About GHD We are a global professional services company that leads through engineering, construction and architectural expertise. Our forward-looking and innovative approaches connect and sustain communities around the world. Delivering extraordinary social and economic outcomes, we are focused on building lasting relationships with our partners and clients.