RCoW drives wedge into City-V-Rural divide

If ever you doubted the city-centric nature of the Wangaratta Council, look at Wednesday's Chronicle lead article, "Crunch time on pipeline".

In the very week that the North East Catchment Management Authority closed down the King River irrigation system, the RCoW has appointed consultants to look into running a large diameter pipeline from either Lake Buffalo or Lake William Hovell.

Talk about kicking a man whilst he is down!

The very livelihood of the King Valley grape growers, the dairy farmers, and their local employees, has been compromised by the irrigation ban, yet the Council brief is to look at the advantages, the beneficiaries and new opportunities to be gained by the urban community of Wangaratta.

It does not look at the disadvantages to those employed in the rural industries, the rural victims of the loss of water, or the lost opportunities of the farmers and horticulturists.

A recent RCoW 'Drought News' publication showed that whilst all the rural areas are already on or expected to be on stage four water restrictions, the urban area of Wangaratta is not expected to have the same limitations applied.

Two years ago, the residents voted for a 20 megalitre storage in College Street. It seems that was not enough as the local newspapers recently reported a surge in water use after water restrictions had been applied.

This move has driven a wedge into the city-V-rural divide that our councillors are so keen to deny.