1. What is an environmental entitlement?

An environmental entitlement is the legal instrument held by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change to allocate water to the environment for the purpose of maintaining the environmental water reserve or improving the environmental values and health of water ecosystems.

An environmental entitlement defines the amount of water that can be taken and the conditions under which it can be taken.

2. Why is the environmental entitlement being amended?

Phase 1 of the Shepparton Irrigation Area Modernisation Project, a Government Initiative to recover water for the River Murray, was completed on 15 August.

Goulburn-Murray Water has advised the Minister for Environment and Climate Change that an average annual saving of 29,300 megalitres has been realised from Phase 1 of the project, by reducing losses in the irrigation system.

These savings are being converted to an environmental entitlement under the Living Murray Initiative, in return for the Victorian government’s investment in the project.

The Environmental Entitlement (Goulburn system – Living Murray) 2007 is being amended to increase the volume of water available under this entitlement by an average of 29,300 megalitres per year.

3. What is the Living Murray Initiative?

The Living Murray Initiative is Australia’s most significant river restoration program. It aims to achieve a healthy working River Murray system for the benefit of all Australians. A key element of this is returning 500 gigalitres of water to the River Murray, of which Victoria has committed to recover 214 gigalitres.

The Initiative is a partnership of the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian and ACT governments. Further information can be found on The Living Murray website.

The additional water will contribute to improving the environment at six icon sites.

The Shepparton Irrigation Area Modernisation Project (SIAMP) is one of Victoria’s projects to recover water for the Living Murray Initiative and it will contribute to Victoria's 214 gigalitre target.

4. How will the water be used for the environment?

Through the Living Murray “Environmental Delivery” program, environmental water is delivered to icon sites to optimise meeting ecological objectives at the sites. Individual icon site management plans outline the objectives, guidelines and priorities for water application. Water that is allocated each year is then prioritised for delivery. Water prioritisation is undertaken collaboratively between MDBA, stakeholders and the State containing the icon site.

5. How was the water recovered?

The Living Murray Initiative invested $86.2 million in the Shepparton Irrigation Area Modernisation Project to recover 29,300 megalitres of water savings per year (long term average).

The water recovery is achieved through:

• Upgrading and automating the regulators on major channels
• Outlet meter replacement to improve measurement accuracy
• Replacing some leaky channels with pipelines
• Some reconfiguration and rationalisation of existing assets.

6. What is the reliability of the recovered water?

The water savings have been converted to 20,461 megalitres of high-reliability entitlement and 15,780 megalitres of low-reliability entitlement.

Year to year the volume of water available under these entitlements will vary depending on the seasonal allocation for the Goulburn system and this will result in the environment using an average of 29,300 ML per year.

7. Will the amendment to the environmental entitlement reduce the reliability of supply to irrigators in the Goulburn System?

No. The transfer of water savings to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change will not impact on existing rights or entitlements held by irrigators and diverters in the Shepparton Irrigation Area. The water savings which are being transferred would previously have been lost through evaporation, leakage or other system losses.

8. How can I be certain that the water savings are actual savings and not part of my water shares?

The savings were calculated by Goulburn-Murray Water using a method consistent with the recently published Victorian Water Savings Protocol. The savings have also been modelled using independently audited water resource models and will be audited by the Murray Darling Basin Authority prior to being registered as new environmental entitlements for the Living Murray Initiative. This will ensure that the savings returned to the environment accurately reflect the irrigation system’s improved long-term performance and are sourced exclusively from reduced losses through modernisation works.

9. Are these savings part of the Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP)?

No. The Shepparton Irrigation Area Modernisation Project (SIAMP) was initiated before the NVIRP project was conceived. The savings from SIAMP have been accounted for separately, although the nature of the works is similar to the modernisation program now being undertaken by NVIRP, and NVIRP has contributed funding towards the SIAMP.