Key Benefits
The Sugarloaf Pipeline is the biggest single boost to Melbourne’s water supplies since the Thomson Reservoir was completed in 1984. The 70km pipeline is transferring Melbourne’s share (75 billion litres) of the water savings from the Victorian Government’s $2 billion, two-stage Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP).
Irrigators and the environment will also gain equal or greater increases in water availability as a result NVIRP. The Goulburn–Murray Irrigation District will be transformed by NVIRP into the most sophisticated and efficient irrigation system in the world.
Melbourne Water is contributing $300 million to Stage One of NVIRP as part of the Sugarloaf Pipeline project. Without this investment, NVIRP would not have been possible.
The Sugarloaf Pipeline project also saw the Winneke Water Treatment Plant at Sugarloaf Reservoir upgraded as well as improvements to the existing Melbourne Water distribution network.
Other benefits
The Sugarloaf Pipeline delivered significant benefits to Victoria and the Yea–Yarra Valley region:
- More than 1200 full-time jobs were created building the Sugarloaf Pipeline – 40 per cent of Alliance workers were from the region
- The Sugarloaf Pipeline project boosted Victoria’s economy by $200 million and provided work for 300 Victorian businesses
- More than $5 million in grants were distributed by the Sugarloaf Pipeline Alliance to support local community initiatives across the region – sporting clubs, schools, environmental groups, tourist initiatives, festivals and various other community projects were funded
- Six permanent water access points were created along the Sugarloaf Pipeline for the Country Fire Authority to access water from the pipeline for firefighting purposes and to help save lives and property
- The Sugarloaf Pipeline Alliance contributed $200,000 each to Murrindindi and Yarra Ranges shire councils for the provision of additional community support services, as stipulated by the Victorian Government
- The Sugarloaf Pipeline Alliance donated $500,000 to Yarra Ranges Shire Council to co-fund the sealing of roads in the Yarra Glen area.
