We do this every single day by providing essential rural water services to our customers at an affordable long-term cost.
We take pride in knowing we are custodians of the infrastructure and services that form such an integral component of economic activity across our region.
Recently our 2019-20 Annual Report was tabled in the Victorian Parliament communicating a powerful message; through a sound vision and strong leadership, we have demonstrated the ability to be agile and adapt as circumstances changed.
We have acknowledged areas of our business that required rigour and improvement and through transformation we have responded.
I want to share with you the very positive results reflected in our financial reports which demonstrate G-MW is taking significant steps towards its long-term goal and continued drive to reduce its operating expenditure while building a system with a viable future.
The revenue requirement for our 2020-2024 Pricing Submission is $439.5 million.
This is $65 million lower than that approved in the previous pricing period and an average reduction of $16 million per year, allowing us to deliver much-needed price relief to almost all of our customers.
Most customers will already have received a drop in fees of about 10 per cent when they received their June bills.
This year we also delivered $3.8 million in information and communication technology enhancements, which has ensured that we have been able to provide services during the coronavirus pandemic, and an $11.6 million capital works program across our delivery network on top of the Connections project investment to ensure our assets remain fit for purpose.
Both these programs contribute to an efficient delivery system that enable G-MW to meet irrigator demand.
The foundation of making those fit-for-purpose capital works decisions in the irrigation network is based on our Channel-by-Channel asset management assessment tool.
This tool applies years of data to more than 200 ‘pods’, or district sections of the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District irrigation network, to determine the most cost effective maintenance regime for now and the future.
The 2019-20 Annual Report is confirmation that through organisational transformation, driven at all levels of our organisation, G-MW is building resilience.
We will continue on our path of continuous improvement that underpins transformation as we tackle community-wide issues such as climate change and declining water availability.
Facing a future of uncertain water availability highlights the need for agility and forward thinking within G-MW and across our community.
It is a reminder that we must never become complacent and that continuous improvement is now our business as usual.
It’s why we are so focused on efficiency, maintaining service levels in low flow environments and controlling costs.
Charmaine Quick
Goulburn-Murray Water managing director
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