Important work of GMW’s Dam Safety Team highlighted in recent visit to Waranga Basin
TL;DR
Goulburn-Murray Water's Dam Safety Team recently inspected the embankment at Waranga Basin near Rushworth.
Location
Mallee
Important work of GMW's Dam Safety Team highlighted in recent visit to Waranga Basin
Friday 17 July, 2026
A recent field investigation at Waranga Basin has provided Goulburn-Murray Water's (GMW) Dam Safety Team crucial insights into the condition of the storage's embankment, insights which will help ensure the site's safety.
Waranga Basin is located near the northern Victorian town of Rushworth, with its embankment standing at 12 metres high and 7 kilometres long.
The Basin is a crucial off-river storage that supplies water to the Central Goulburn, Rochester and Pyramid-Boort Irrigation Areas and beyond to the Loddon Valley Irrigation Area.
While the storage continues to operate safely, its embankment experienced unusual movements and cracking in 2024 that was not readily understood.
This was identified during GMW's latest Dam Safety Review for the storage. National dam safety guidelines recommend that Dam Safety Reviews are conducted every 20 years.
GMW's Dam Safety Team are currently undertaking further investigations of the Waranga Basin embankment to better understand how it's behaving and to guide future planning of the site.
In June 2026, the team undertook a field investigation of the storage where several sections of the embankment were examined in depth.
GMW's Manager Dam Safety Sam Green said this investigation was incredibly helpful for the team.
"It's provided us a lot of useful information about the embankment's behaviour," he said.
"We have gained valuable insights of internal condition of this 100-year-old embankment, helping improve our understanding of potential deformation mechanisms and supporting dam safety risk assessments."
The field investigation saw the team install new monitoring instrumentation within the embankment including inclinometers and Vibrating Wire Piezometers.
Inclinometers are specialised instruments that measure movement within the embankment. Piezometers are instruments used to monitor water pressure within the dam structure.
Advanced sonic drilling technology was also used during the field investigation, which allowed the Dam Safety Team to collect high-quality continuous core samples while minimising disturbance to the embankment.
The team also undertook Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) at the embankment - a geotechnical method that is used to evaluate soil characteristics and structure within the embankment.
Mr Green said the recent field investigation is just one example of the important regular work the Dam Safety Team does to ensure GMW's dams are looked after properly.
"The information this field investigation provided will help ensure Waranga Basin continues to operate safely," he said.
"Dam safety is built on understanding, monitoring, and continuously improving our knowledge of the behaviour of these critical assets."
GMW's General Manager Strategy and Services Planning Steven Abbott said investigations of the Waranga Basin embankment were a great example of the water corporation's commitment to dam safety.
"This work highlights the careful and thorough approach we take to dam safety," he said.
"It's a great example of how our Dam Safety Team supports the safe and responsible management of our storages."