14 October 2025
Long time neighbours Goulburn Valley Water (GVW) and Marysville Golf and Bowls Club are celebrating a a 20-year partnership that helped transform the club’s irrigation system, and ensured its long-term sustainability.
The club, in the south east corner of the GVW service area, has grown from a modest nine-hole golf course into a vibrant community-owned facility which now has 18 holes nestled in the scenic surrounds of the Steavenson River.
Marysville is one of five courses in the region to use recycled water for irrigation purposes, the others being Seymour, Yea, Mansfield and Euroa – their locations close to Goulburn Valley Water wastewater treatment facilities allowing the relationship to flourish.
Goulburn Valley Water Managing Director Dr Steve Capewell explained the relationship between the neighbours - the Marysville Wastewater Management Facility almost directly across the road - had been rewarding on a number of fronts.
Dr Capewell said Goulburn Valley Water valued its community partnerships and Marysville was an example of staff going ‘above and beyond’ to ensure an important community asset was kept in pristine condition – through the provision of recycled water to irrigate the course, as well providing a useful purpose for utilising treated wastewater.
“The club is a shining example of how recycled water can be used sustainably and effectively,” Dr Capewell said.
Discussions to irrigate the course with recycled water started way back in the early 2000s and by 2005 a gravity-fed pipeline stretched from the Wastewater Management Facility to a pump station on the course - allowing the club to access high-quality recycled water.
Nowadays the club is provided with 70 megalitres of recycled water, which allows it to maintain its green appearance through the dry summer months.
Club President Steve Coker said the support was critical to the club’s continued operation.
“We couldn’t have kept going without the recycled water,” Mr Coker said.
Former greenskeeper Kellan Fiske, who began his career at the club when the recycled water system was installed, was last week honoured by the club as he resigned following 18 years of service.
“Kellan’s leadership and the support from GVW and the wider community have been instrumental to us being in the position we are. Along with our volunteers these have been some of our most important contributions,”: Mr Coker said.
GVW staff work closely with volunteers and greens-keepers at all these clubs, with regular sampling and communication ensuring the systems run smoothly.
As the Marysville club prepares for its upcoming championship season, it does so with renewed strength and a deep appreciation for the partnerships that have sustained it.
“This is more than a water supply agreement,” Dr Capewell said.
“It’s a story of resilience, innovation, and community spirit.”
