We made the decision to put Euroa and Violet Town on Stage 2 water restrictions in April 2019 following a lengthy period of dry and hot conditions and depleted water storages. At that time Euroa storages that supply Euroa and Violet Town were sitting at about 22%.
We know restrictions have been in place in Euroa and Violet Town for a long time and that’s been frustrating, but we’re working hard behind the scenes to ensure the current water supply is sustainable until winter rainfall can refill our storages. Unfortunately, rainfall has been much lower than average in the past two years, inflows into our storages have been minimal, and warmer and drier weather conditions have resulted in pockets of increased high water demand.
There was not enough rainfall last winter to allow storages to recover and with dry and hot conditions predicted to continue over summer months, Stage 2 restrictions have remained in place.
Key rules under Stage 2 water restrictions are:
- Residential, commercial or public lawn areas cannot be watered at any time
- Residential, commercial or public gardens must only be watered as required and only with a handheld hose, bucket or watering can at any time, or with a watering system on alternate days between 6-8am or 6-8pm
- Water cannot generally be used to fill or top up fountains, water features, ponds or lakes, or a new or existing pool or spa
- Cars cannot be washed except by using a pressure washer, handheld hose or bucket or at a commercial car wash
You can find more information on our Stage 2 Water Restrictions fact sheet (PDF, 82kb).
We have a number of projects underway or recently completed to improve supply options for Euroa and Violet Town into the future.
Short-term water security supply solutions
To ensure the water supply remains sustainable, we’ve made a commitment to begin tankering additional water to Euroa and Violet Town from Monday, 2 March to boost supplies, so you may see increased truck activity on local roads. This arrangement will be in place for about 4 weeks and will be reviewed in April based on the current water storage volume, demand and inflows and forecast future rainfall. Tankers will run 7 days a week, but only during daylight hours to minimise any noise impacts.
We’re also tankering raw water to a number of selected sporting grounds and park in Euroa, including the recently redeveloped Friendlies Oval, Memorial Oval, Euroa Tennis Club, Euroa Bowling Club and the Euroa Saleyards to help reduce the pressure on our drinking water supplies and keep public spaces green while Stage 2 restrictions are in place.
At the moment, our total storage supply for Euroa and Violet Town is sitting at 20%, compared to 27% at the same time last year. To ensure we can continue water supply without introducing higher levels of restrictions, we’ve had to make the decision to shut the Euroa and Violet Town standpipes and we’re working closely with people and businesses affected by the closures. We’re working closely with local water carters to ensure water can be sourced from alternative towns – we’ve committed to waiving the water costs for local carters at standpipes in Shepparton, Nagambie and Seymour until the Euroa and Violet Town standpipes reopen.
Standpipes will be the first thing to reopen once storages have recovered somewhat, and we’ll be looking to remove Stage 2 water restrictions and return to Permanent Water Saving rules as soon as storage volumes become adequate and refill trending is satisfactorily.
Thanks to residents for your patience and understanding - we really appreciate your efforts to make every drop of water count this summer.
Long-term water supply security solutions
A two stage major upgrade project began at the Abbinga reservoir site in March 2018 to build a second storage to ensure the water supply requirements of the townships remain sustainable over the next 50 years. The second storage is now in operation, however there were delays in construction which meant both storages were not able to be filled in the lead up to summer. The Abbinga project has created an extra 440ML of water storage.
Construction underway at the Abbinga storages in 2019 - the new storage is completed on the left, the original storage on the right has been emptied for refurbishment works.
We have completed a large-scale leak detection program and prioritised leak and water main burst repairs.
Planning is underway on a new project to install a Class B recycled water standpipe in town to help relieve the pressure on drinking water supplies in future.
Immediate water supply security solutions
We have also explored and put in place, where possible, a range of solutions to secure the water supply in the short term to avoid having to place Euroa and Violet Town on a higher level of restriction.
Water was sourced in late 2019 from Polly McQuinns weir on the Sevens Creek to supplement supplies, however this is not a sustainable water supply option, and GVW is very mindful of the overall health of the creek system.
A 200m bore was sunk last year at the Abbinga reservoir site to supplement supplies, however despite finding water, the source was unfortunately not replenishing and sustainable in the short term.