> Background

Coliban Water’s Rural supply system was created in 1877 with the construction of 65km of the Coliban Main Channel from Malmsbury Reservoir to Bendigo.

The system was expanded in 1902 with the construction of Upper Coliban Reservoir, and in 1941 Lauriston Reservoir was completed. 

The Rural Supply System now comprises over 500km of open channel varying from concrete lined box section, earthen channel and pipeline.

The existing Coliban Rural System has served the community well over many decades but is in need of upgrading.

In conjunction with the reforms proposed in the Victorian Government’s White Paper “Securing Our Water Future Together” it is necessary for a major upgrade to the system to provide improved levels of service to customers, reduce water losses and minimise environmental impacts.

> Opportunities

With the replacement of existing open channels with pipelines, a year-round supply is likely to be available.

We hope the need for small dams for storage can be reduced and replaced with water tanks to save water currently being lost through evaporation and seepage.

> Timeline

Due to the size of the project, implementation of the reconfiguration of the Coliban Rural System will need to be staged over at least 10 years, and completed in sections.

> Contact Us

For more information about the project please contact our Customer Contact Centre 1300 363 200 or e-mail your question to coliban@coliban.com.au

> The Project

A preliminary review of the rural channel system was completed in 2005 and a complete reconfiguration of the rural system was recommended.

To see a full size verion of this rural system configuration > click here

The vision is to replace all channels except the Coliban Main Channel, which operates with resonable efficiency, by a piped system.

Some preliminary plans:

• Most customers to have a year round supply into tanks
  
• Some customers may be provided with alternative supply (e.g. potable or recycled water)
• Some customers may not receive any supply
• There may be some potential for additional customers join the system
• Most customers will not need all of their existing licence entitlements
• There will be significant water savings achieved