Trucks carrying the pipes, which have a 760mm internal diameter and 800mm external diameter, were unloaded on private farmland in Kooroocheang where they will be stored until construction starts in May.

Goldfields Superpipe water spokesman Paul O'Donohue said numerous stockpiles had developed along the proposed superpipe route.

"We are finding locations to put them. They will be stored there until the construction stage," he said.

Mr O'Donohue said most of the pipes were being delivered from Earth Tech Engineering in Melbourne, while some were coming from Sydney.

He said Central Highlands Water was continuing negotiations with landholders and looking at a range of issues before construction starts.

The superpipe will transfer water from Sandhurst Reservoir in Bendigo to White Swan Reservoir in Ballarat and will follow the existing power line easement.

It will include three pump stations proposed to be situated at the Sandhurst Reservoir, north of the Wombat Forest in Yandoit and south of the Midland Hwy in the Blampied-Kooroocheang area.

Mr O'Donohue said tenders for construction of the superpipe closed last Friday.

"They will be evaluated over the next two to three weeks and the contractors will be announced by late April, early May," he said.

Mr O'Donohue said storing the pipes now would help contractors start construction immediately.

Central Highlands Water chairman John Barnes said the superpipe project was the largest undertaken by the authority and had the highest priority with the scheduled completion being August.

The current extreme drought conditions following a period of below average rainfall has brought forward the project.

The superpipe will provide Ballarat with up to 10,000 megalitres of additional water per year.