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AS the last section of the Sugarloaf Pipeline was laid in the Yarra Glen area last week, debate continued about the viability of the controversial project.
Visiting the site, State Water Minister Tim Holding said that water could flow to Melbourne through the 70km-long pipeline from as early as February next year.
Mr Holding said the pipeline, which is funded by Melbourne water users, would deliver
Melbourne’s share of water savings from the $2 billion investment in irrigation ugrades.
"In 2010 Melbourne will receive 75 billion litres of water down the pipeline, every year after that savings from Stage 1 of the irrigation upgrades will be shared equally between farmers, Melbourne and rivers.
"Savings from Stage 2 will be split 50/50 between farmers and rivers," he said.
"These water savings are being made right now in irrigation channels in northern Victoria and will be independently audited and verified."
The Sugarloaf Pipeline runs from the Goulburn River near Yea to the Sugarloaf Reservoir in Melbourne’s northeast.
Construction began in September last year, with works suspended for up to three weeks following the Black Saturday bushfires.
Water will begin flowing to Melbourne following completion of two pumping stations near Yea, a power substation, reservoir chute and extensive testing of the pipe.
Mr Holding said the project had injected more than $200 million into the Victorian economy and about $50 million into the regional economy.
"At its peak, the project employed more than 1200 fulltime direct and subcontract staff, with up to 800 people employed for a sustained period over 12 months," he said.
About 40 per cent of the workforce had been made up of local people and regional Victorians including engineers, administrators and subcontractors, he added.
"The Sugarloaf Pipeline Alliance – consisting of Melbourne Water, Sinclair Knight Merz; GHD and John Holland - has worked tirelessly to complete the pipe laying on the project," he said.
"The Alliance continues to work on re-instating the land with about 40km already complete."
However, the State Opposition warned that the pipeline would become a "monument to the folly of the Government".
Also speaking from Yarra Glen last week, the Shadow Minister for Regional and Rural Development and Nationals leader, Peter Ryan, said that the Government had "pinned the tail on a great white elephant".
"Victorians will look back on the north-south pipeline in years to come and see it as a wrong, poor and expensive proposition conceived by a panicked government.
"The project was announced before the completion of a business case and there is still no independent audit to identify whether the water savings which are supposed to be pumped to Melbourne even exist," he said.
Three weeks ago, the Victorian Upper House voted to disallow a Government order to take water from Eildon Dam through the Pipeline.
"Parliament disallowed Mr Holding’s first order to get water into the pipeline from Lake Eildon because the government has not honoured its commitments to food producers and the environment," said Mr Ryan.
He said the Coalition would "move to disallow any further amendments to existing arrangements unless the government makes a serious effort to honour its original promises."
"We will not allow Premier Brumby and Minister Holding to renege on their commitments to Victorians," Mr Ryan said.