The West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (the CMA) delivers the Sustainable Irrigation Program (SIP) in West Gippsland in collaboration with partners from DELWP (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning), Agriculture Victoria (AgVic) and Southern Rural Water (SRW).

The aim of the Sustainable Irrigation Program in West Gippsland is for a productive, efficient and sustainable irrigation industry supported by improved irrigation infrastructure. The program delivers farm planning, on-farm incentives, extension support, research and development to the Gippsland irrigation community with a focus on the Lake Wellington catchment area.

The program works alongside MID2030 modernisation activities in the Macalister Irrigation District (MID) to leverage government investment and amplify regional outcomes.

In 2020, the CMA, AgVic and SRW will continue to collaborate for the benefit of irrigators in the planning and implementation of Phase 2 of the MID2030 program. Specifically, this project will provide irrigators involved in the Newry Pipeline construction with the opportunity to prepare or update a whole farm plan for their property at no cost to irrigators. That is, the farm plans will be fully funded by the WGCMA and SRW.

The farm planning process will afford irrigators the ideal opportunity to consider the changes to their irrigation supply (i.e. improved service levels from the MID2030 works), identify the on-farm opportunities following the changes, and plan for both short term measures and longer-term projects. Planning a large number of farms in one targeted area concurrently will also provide a unique opportunity to identify cross-property efficiencies and measures. The project will also work closely with the SRW MID2030 engineering team to ensure alignment between farm plans and MID2030 project detailed designs.