The Renmark Irrigation Trust also manages the drainage of the irrigation district.
Historically, high water tables and salinity were a long standing issue, reaching a critical point following the 1956 flood.
In 1959 the premier of South Australia, Thomas Playford, offered the Trust a grant and loan on condition of the Trust’s co-contribution and that the Trust agreed to withdraw from the exercise of local government powers and functions. Members voted in favour of the proposal.
A Comprehensive Drainage Scheme was then developed. Tile drains were installed on individual properties, with drainage water, fed by gravity, entering into a pipeline system that flowed to a system of 13 caissons.
The drainage water joins the state government’s salinity management scheme directing water away from the floodplains. Over time the amount of drainage water entering the system has declined with increasing efficiency of irrigation inputs.
