Portfolio — 28 August 2026

The Minister for the Environment and Water announced the completion of two major water-infrastructure projects on 28 August 2026, one in the Northern Territory and one in Victoria, both delivered through federal-state partnerships [TA-260828-climat-5d20256ca9b8 TA-260828-climat-b1f8fa33246e]. The announcements extend the portfolio's resilience agenda from recent wildlife disease preparedness and Western Australian water-security initiatives into new regions [TA-260828-climat-5d20256ca9b8 TA-260828-climat-b1f8fa33246e].

Together, the projects couple dam-return-to-service and recycled-water-network models to strengthen regional water security [TA-260828-climat-5d20256ca9b8 TA-260828-climat-b1f8fa33246e].

**Manton Dam and Western Irrigation Network completions**

The Manton Dam Return to Service project in the Northern Territory was completed $15 million under budget at a total cost of $174 million [TA-260828-climat-5d20256ca9b8]. The project adds 7,300 megalitres of water each year and includes upgrades to the intake tower, a new Strauss Water Treatment Plant, a new pump station and 22 km of pipeline. In Victoria, the first stage of the $116 million Western Irrigation Network was completed, delivering around 2.4 billion litres of recycled water to farms in the Parwan-Balliang region and supporting roughly 1,500 hectares of farmland [TA-260828-climat-b1f8fa33246e].

The network comprises more than 28 km of pipeline, a transfer pumping station and a one-billion-litre winter storage dam, and could eventually supply up to 18 billion litres of recycled water annually.

**Portfolio resilience approach**

The portfolio couples federal-state partnerships with recycled-water infrastructure to strengthen regional water security across diverse Australian regions [TA-260828-climat-b1f8fa33246e]. The Manton Dam project was delivered below its allocated budget, while the Western Irrigation Network's first stage establishes infrastructure with capacity to scale from its initial 2.4 billion litre output to as much as 18 billion litres annually [TA-260828-climat-5d20256ca9b8 TA-260828-climat-b1f8fa33246e].

The two completions illustrate a pattern of infrastructure-led water security investment delivered through federal-state partnership arrangements [TA-260828-climat-5d20256ca9b8 TA-260828-climat-b1f8fa33246e].