Steve Snelson is all smiles about his upgraded channel at Koyuga.
A few years ago, Koyuga farmer Steve Snelson wondered whether the broken down irrigation channel that serves his property (and others) would ever be fixed.
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The one great hope, the controversial $2 billion Connections project, brought numerous visitors with grand plans, but they disappeared without a shovel being turned on the channel.
The channel, which runs along Castle and McKenzie Rds, leaked so much it was growing cumbungi and rushes on roadside drains, as much as the grazing and dairy properties it was supposed to serve.
But Steve must be something of an optimist, because he never gave up hope that something might be done.
And that time has arrived, albeit about 10 years late.
Goulburn-Murray Water has completed a $700,000 remodelling of a 2km section of the channel — cleaning out the silt, removing the weeds and lining the inside with clay and rock.
Steve is impressed with the finished result.
“This will boost food production and make the little water we have after buybacks, more efficient.”
He said young farmers were taking up land served by the channel and they deserved to have the most efficient delivery of water.
The old channel was choked with silt and leaking. Picture: G-MW.
Steve Snelson's upgraded channel at Koyuga.
The old channel was choked up with silt to the point it was difficult to see daylight under one of the bridges.
Steve and his family moved from Kalkallo to Koyuga in 1993 to farm prime ewes and lambs on about 240ha in Castle Rd, with a further 50ha over the road.
The former stock inspector and farm manager created a 200 Ml turkey nest dam, which proved successful in dry years when temporary water ran up to $900/Ml.
But the irrigation channel that served his properties was disastrous — silted up, and banks crumbling and leaking.
He took advice from another farmer he respected, Barry Croke from Naring, and formed the Koyuga South Irrigators Group to negotiate with G-MW’s Connections project.
At first G-MW refused to engage with the group, but they won through and began discussions on what they wanted to get out of modernisation.
However, the group suffered from what Steve told a Senate inquiry was protracted ‘back and forth’ , and the badly managed Connections program stalled and the project ran out of money. So the old channel remained.
This year the channel was listed in G-MW’s Winter Works program and Steve said the outcome is “fabulous”.
He is full of praise for the way the project was managed.
The only outstanding issue still under negotiation is a fence between the open channel and his house yard.
“I’m a bit worried about the grandchildren.”
A fence between the channel and the house would complete the Koyuga project.
G-MW field services manager Tony Corbett said G-MW identified the section of channel west of Tongala as needing repair due to it showing signs of seepage.
“The remediation works undertaken on the channel have been completed to a very high standard and will help us deliver water more reliably and efficiently,” he said.
“The works are mostly complete, with some core trenching to take place later in the coming weeks.”
The project included 500m of core trenching and 500m of rock armouring, as well as the removal of trees growing on channel banks.
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