By KATH GANNAWAY
A $6 million proposal to pipe recycled water to growers in the Coldstream/Gruyere area has been listed as a priority for Federal Government funding.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) have identified the project which aims to future proof the Yarra Valley against drought and changing climate as a priority under the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund (NWIDF).
The Coldstream Recycled-water Pipeline – known as CROPS – literally can’t come soon enough for strawberry grower Tony Scardamaglia, and others like him, who are buying mains water just to get their crops to market.
Mr Scardamaglia farms in Wandin and Coldstream and his uncle also has a strawberry farm just up the road in Gruyere.
Coming out of a dry spring and a hot December, they are all struggling to keep water up to the millions of strawberry plants that not only supply supermarket shelves, but keep hundreds of people in jobs.
Standing on the cracked clay beach of his nearly empty dam, Mr Scardamaglia looks across at the water bubbling in from the same supply, and at the same cost, that provides drinking water to the nearby housing estate.
“I would say nearly everyone would be on mains water by now,” he said.
“I’m going through at least $1000 a day, maybe a couple of thousand; if they go without water for two days, they’re done.”
Asked how that affected the bottom line, he said he would probably end up losing money this season.
It’s not even a balancing act. Mr Scardamaglia said even if it was an option to just stop watering, there were issues with potential disease, maintaining the plants for next season, and looking after his workers.
“Basically, right now I’m just doing it to keep my workers,” Mr Scardamaglia said.
“If I lose them this season, I may not get them back next season.”
The Coldstream Recycled-water Pipeline (CROPS) is being promoted as a partnership between local growers, who will be customers of the scheme, and regional agencies.
It would supply 1000 megalitres of recycled water from Yarra Valley Water’s plant at Lilydale through a 20-kilometre pipeline to 20 growers who are leading strawberry and wine industry employers in the region.
Some of the benefits identified in a pre-feasibility study included greater water security which would protect existing jobs and provide investor confidence to promote new jobs, as well as increasing growers’ confidence to sign long-term export contracts which are currently restricted by the uncertainty of rainfall.
President of the national and Victorian Strawberry Growers Associations, Coldstream strawberry grower, Sam Violi, said the idea for a pipeline that would upgrade sewerage farm water had first been mooted around 10 years ago, but went nowhere.
He said the water would come from the sewage farm in Lilydale and would need to be filtered to a very high standard.
“If I lose them this season, I may not get them back next season.” – Tony Scardamaglia
“Nothing less than class A is needed for this type of project and the plant would have to be upgraded to filter it to that class,” he said.
Mr Violi said there were proven examples of where this type of solution to uncertain water supply had worked.
If DEWLP were successful in obtaining the NWIDF funding, a full feasibility would be undertaken to look at the best methods of construction, environmental impacts, cost and other aspects.
Yarra Ranges Council Economic Development Unit is inviting farmers who are keen to know more about CROPS to contact them on 1300 368 333.
