Water Supply Transfers There are numerous water supply schemes that involve the movement of water from the Murray-Darling Basin.

The two that are by far the most important are the diversions of the headwaters of the Snowy River into the Basin and the pipelines that take water out of the Basin to South Australia.

The Snowy River diversions forms part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the increased quantities of water in the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers make an important contribution to the availability of water for hydro-electric power generation and irrigation.

In the 1930s water pipelines from the River Murray to assist with Adelaide’s water supply were first considered, but the continual construction of reservoirs in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia was seen as a better economic decision. South Australia continued to develop in the post-war eras and with its relatively low rainfall a more reliable source of water was required.
In 1944 the Morgan to Whyalla pipeline, the first pipeline from the Murray, was built to supply the expanding industrial town of Whyalla and the northern areas of South Australia.

In 1954 the Mannum to Adelaide pipeline was constructed to service the post-war growth in the suburbs and hills of Adelaide. This pipeline supplied water directly into the metropolitan reticulation system.

The pipeline from Murray Bridge to the Onkaparinga River near Hahndorf was constructed between 1967 and 1973. Further development of the hills’ towns of Hahndorf, Nairne, Mount Barker and Bridgewater followed.

The Swan Reach to Stockwell pipeline, which services the lower north and Yorke Peninsula, and the Tailem Bend to Keith pipeline, servicing townships and farms in the Coonalpyn Downs areas, were built in the late 1960s

Content sourced from Majestic Murray User Guide 2nd Edition 2001

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