General News
12 December, 2025
Waters Of The Wimmera: Bob goes with the flow with new release
WITH a significant part of his life pursuing a career – alongside a keen personal interest – in all things related to water catchment and supply, Bob McIlvena, at 91 years old, is possibly the Wimmera’s select authority to write and edit books about the subject.
‘Pipe Dreams’ was released in 2001 and focused more on the establishment of the Wimmera Mallee Water system, but a new title, ‘Waters Of The Wimmera’, has just been released and focuses more on the natural environment.
His start many years ago was humble enough: unemployed, he ended up working at the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission after getting married in Ballarat and moving to the Wimmera.
“I started work with the commission on pick and shovel in a construction gang working on channel structures,” Bob said.
“That's when the open channel system was here, which I was later to find out it was the largest rural water supply system in the world.
“That gave me a bit of a spark, and I got more interested in my job, and promotions followed. I went from construction to a ganger, (then) the leading hand supervisor, and then finished up in charge of all the water in the Wimmera Mallee.”
His expert understanding of water in the region is well known, given how he made a point of recording anything and everything relevant.
“I started to document every water-related incident that happened at the time,” Bob said.
“This carried on through a lot of years and I was fortunate to work with some of the older people that worked with horse teams, and so I was able to capture that (information) off them, and started to document it, just for my own interest, to get a record of it, because I could see that the open channel system wasn't going to last because it was too expensive, water wise.
“So as I progressed through the water authority, I just documented everything I could regarding water – it led me to the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission head office in Orrong Road, Armadale, to their library, (and then) to the Canberra library.
“I started to write different things about it, and that sort of led to the first book of ‘Pipe Dreams’.
“I thought, this isn't going to last – this man-made system, one of the wonders of the world, the 12 reservoirs and 16,000 kilometres of open channel and 50 towns’ water supply systems.”
He said in the process, he picked up a lot about the local environment and its changes, including “different lakes, rivers, creeks, water courses that no longer existed, and swamps, wetlands, also the life that gets sustained, both plant and animal life”.
The history of the local populations was also covered when relevant to the context, and Bob hoped the core subject would rise above any potential controversy, as his focus with the book was clear.
“I wanted to be a reference, an educational tool – not only interesting, but educational too,” he said.
“There’s nothing ever done like it before and won’t be again.
“People need to know these things. If you don’t know where you’ve been, how do you know where you’re going?”
Bob added the inherent variability of weather was a key factor, along with the decades of development.
“If it doesn't rain, we don't have any water, and the authorities never know what stock they're going to have next year,” he said.
“They can go back on averages and all that, but there's no way you could ever be sure. You don't know what's going to happen.
“Conditions have changed – we have much less water flowing around this area than ever. You go back to the 1960s (and) 70s, the Wimmera River ran nearly all year round.”
What’s clear is the balance Bob brings to the subject, as he lamented some changes – “we stuffed the Glenelg River up when we put a bank across the Glenelg River and called it Rocklands Reservoir” – yet still acknowledged that “people are here and they have to exist and they have to have water”.
Bob said he endeavoured to be restrained in terms of offering his own ideas for the future, but added notes where he thought it was appropriate.
Ultimately, he hoped readers of the book would consider the simple question: “Where does water come from?”
“They say the tap!” he said, drolly.
“(But) some of this water, it comes a long way via different means – pumps and all sorts of things, and the water's treated and brought up to world health standards – they must be aware of this and appreciate it. It's just so easy to turn a tap on and get water.
“We have a limited volume of the most valuable liquid in the world, from your christening when you're born to the washing of the body when you're buried, water is a part of life – and no water, no life.”