Mount Royal community scheme
From the February 2008 edition of Agriculture Today.
As the dry weather continues to strangle water supplies across Australia, a group of farmers from the Culcairn district in southern NSW have devised their own solution.
The group of eight farmers came together and developed a 15-kilometre stock and domestic water scheme that provides a consistent flow of good quality water to each farm.
Michael Reynolds of M and M Project Management, Wagga Wagga, and formerly of NSW Department of Primary Industries helped co-ordinate the project and enjoyed seeing the group’s hard work pay off.
"The project has been a great success with a number of farms benefiting from the scheme just in the nick of time, as once again farm dam levels are nearing empty," Mr Reynolds said.
"Seeing the water flow out the end of the system has put a smile on everybody’s face."
The group known as the Mount Royal Water Scheme was formed in 2005 through the drive of Hayden Lieschke and the generosity of Bernie Coyle, who provided his farm as the source of water for the scheme.
Both are local farmers who saw the need for a scheme to provide water to surrounding farms as dams were continually drying up.
An associated benefit of the scheme is the strengthening of the local community.
One of the group said "this project has been great as we not only have a sure supply of water, we also have a closer relationship with this group of neighbours during a time when drought is starting to pull rural communities apart".
Mr Reynolds said the scheme took nearly two years to complete and the group had to overcome many hurdles before water flowed out the end of the pipe.
"The group had to purchase land for the bore site, apply for a water licence, become incorporated, fulfil legal requirements on top of designing the scheme, purchase materials and organise construction."
But in the end it was well worth the effort.
