People in Campbells Forest live within 5km of three pipelines but instead are forced to rely on rainwater – and they want that changed.
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Residents of the area north of Bendigo will gather on Wednesday night as the Campbells Forest and District Community Action Planning Group starts gathering evidence of the issues they face.
It is hoped a community survey will bolster the case for a $60,000 feasibility study and business case identifying the best water source.
GWMWater’s South West Loddon Pipeline, Goulburn Murray Water’s east Loddon pipeline and Coliban Water’s Raywood pipeline are all nearby and are among the options.
Ann-Maree Davis lives in the area and says the community has been lobbying for a reliable water source for many years.
“We’ve endured a lot of hardships with drought. The predominant source of income for our community is agriculture so we are significantly impacted,” she said.
The need for a better water supply has been thrown into sharp relief as landholders prepare for an anticipated dry summer.
Many have already donated to drought-stricken farmers in NSW and Queensland and are now downsizing stock, Ms Davis said, as well as contending with sparse grazing paddocks and expected low crop yields.
Currently, people rely solely on rainwater for domestic and farming needs and she said secure water would help maximise quality and crop yields. It would also help them confidently manage stock and diversify farm practices.
“Many farmers have unused farm infrastructure abandoned many years ago due to insecure water supply,” Ms Davis said.
What was more, some people felt they could not age-in-place because of the need to cart water from 12km away.
Ms Davis said secure water was a human right and that everyone should have access to 50 to 100 litres a day, located no more than a kilometre from where they lived.
“It’s not like we are saying we want water to come 100km. We are talking 5km,” Ms Davis said.
Wednesday night’s community information session is at the Campbells Forest Hall from 8pm. The survey will be due back by Friday, December 7.
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
