SA horticultural development sparks water concerns

South Australia’s Riverland will host thousands of hectares of new permanent plantings as part of a new development that has industry concerned.

“We already know that there is a shortfall risk below the (Barmah) choke,” National Irrigators Council chairman Jeremy Morton says.

A massive new development that will transform thousands of hectares of dryland country into an irrigated horticultural property in South Australia’s Riverland region has sparked concerns from industry.

With huge pipes to pump water from the winding Murray River to a dam so large it can hold 520 Olympic swimming pools of water, Koompartu Farms, at Monash, could use more than 30 gigalitres of water annually – almost as much water as the entire 600-member Renmark Irrigation Trust.

Locals and upstream irrigators are worried the planned permanent plantings of almond, citrus and avocado trees will put more pressure on an already limited water supply.

Renmark Irrigation Trust chief executive Rosalie Auricht said she was concerned that in a dry year, there wouldn’t be enough water in the Murray-Darling Basin to maintain present levels of permanent plantings – a concern backed up by a 2020 report by water management advisory firm Aither.

“My understanding is that the development, when it is fully developed, will take about 30GL (in a year), which is just a little bit less than what we use in our entire Renmark Irrigation Area, which supports 3000-4000 people,” Ms Auricht said.

“It is a greenfield site, so it has never been irrigated before. That will be competing with other irrigated areas that have been here for 100 years,” she said.

Ms Auricht said a new authority was urgently needed to oversee greenfield developments in the Murray Darling Basin.

Almond trees need an average of 10-12ML of water per hectare, according to the Almond Board of Australia.

“The Murray Darling Basin Plan is about sharing water, but how that water is utilised by businesses is just being left up to the markets,” she said.

The Koompartu Farms development is on a 9941ha property known as Monash Station, which was sold by Gallard Group in 2021 for $19 million.

Monash Station was marketed as a “dig ready” 3356ha mixed use horticulture development opportunity, with approval for a dam capable of holding 1.3GL of water, 7.8km of underground pipeline to draw the water to the property from the Murray River, and an 800m2 water pumping station. A 2018 development application said the project was based on 33.4GL of approved annual water licensing.

Satellite maps show construction of the dam started in late February this year.

A satellite image of Monash Station, taken in June 2023, shows a large dam under construction.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission filings show Koompartu Farms Pty Ltd, which is operating the new development, shares the same directors as US equity firm Renewable Resources Group, also known as RRG capital management — a firm that specialises in water trading and agricultural investments.

The South Australian deal isn’t the firm’s first foray into Australia. In 2020, the company bought a Sunraysia table grape property for $5.5 million.

Upstream, Riverina rice grower and National Irrigators Council chairman Jeremy Morton said he was concerned thousands of hectares of new permanent plantings would risk driving up water prices and increasing the risk of a water shortfall during summer.

“It’s about the risk that it creates for everyone else, both price risk and supply risk. We already know that there is a shortfall risk below the (Barmah) choke.” Mr Morton said.

National Irrigators Council chairman Jeremy Morton is concerned more permanent plantings will put stress on an already stretched water supply in the Murray Darling Basin. Picture: ANDY ROGERS

In total, South Australia has access to about 400 gigalitres of water per year for irrigation. The Renmark Irrigation Trust has access to 36GL, and the Central Irrigation Trust, which covers the Barmera area, has access to about 100GL.

Almond Board of Australia chief executive Tim Jackson said it made sense that large corporate firms were investing in almonds.
“We’ve gone from being a small industry to the most valuable horticultural export crop in Australia,” Mr Jackson said.

Almond prices were “very ordinary” at the moment, fetching between $5000 and $6000 per tonne, but had potential to return to previous price highs of $12,000 per tonne, he said.

Compared to other commodities like wine grapes, almonds had the potential to generate almost double the financial return per hectare, he said.

Mr Jackson highlighted that under South Australian rules, the developers would have already had access to the water required for the development in order for it to be approved.

“It’s not new water or extra water. It’s just water that’s been moved from one horticultural irrigation outlet onto this site,” he said.

But he said the ABA did have concerns about the increase in permanent plantings below the Barmah Choke, and was calling for a moratorium on new developments in all states.

“The use of the water in more and more permanent plantings means that when we get into a dry time, we’re not going to be able to get enough water through to keep those trees alive. Whereas if you’re doing rice or cotton, water gets to a certain price, and you say: ‘well, I won’t plant a crop this year.’”

The Weekly Times was unable to contact either Koompartu Farms or Renewable Resources Group for comment.