Project Update 8 - September 2010: Implementing the Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy

As we move from a wet winter into a promising spring season, the Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy team is taking stock of key actions implemented since the Strategy was released nine months ago.

These actions are designed to provide more choices for water corporations, environmental managers, businesses and individuals, and reduce the water availability risks from prolonged drought and climate change.

Reserve policy

Changes in the Goulburn reserve policy became effective on 1 July 2010, just before the first irrigation allocation announcements. These changes will put more water aside earlier for the following year, to ensure enough water to run the irrigation channel system and supply homes, towns and farms in times of low rainfall.

The trade-off from putting water aside earlier for next year is that water is redistributed between years – water is not available to users in one year because it is set aside for system operation and allocation in the next year.  The good rains experienced recently are lessening the impact of this ‘insurance premium’ this year.

The Victorian Government has committed to similar arrangements for water users on the River Murray, i.e. keep sufficient reserves aside to run irrigation channel systems the following year. But Victoria must first reach agreement with the New South Wales, South Australian and Commonwealth governments on new water sharing arrangements in the Commonwealth Water Act.  Victoria is working to implement the reserve policy changes for the Murray system in the 2011-2 irrigation season.

The benefits of changing the system reserve policy on smaller systems is less certain. Early examination is not promising, although further investigation on the Broken system will be undertaken to the end of 2010.

Related actions from the NRSWS:

5.1: System reserve policy for the Goulburn system
5.2: System reserve policy for the Murray system
5.3: Assessing reserve policy options on the Broken system

Carryover

From 1 July 2010, Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe customers automatically received a new element to their water allocation bank accounts – a spillable water account. These changes make certain that carryover water will only be lost if storages actually spill.  This means irrigators in these systems can carry over with low risk of missing out on allocations in future seasons.

The Spillable Water Account Implementation Committee met early in 2010 to consider tariff arrangements and a framework for making declarations of the risk of spill.  It was agreed that users will contribute a small charge for water held in spillable accounts and this revenue will be used to reduce fixed storage costs for all entitlement holders. This charge will make sure that entitlement holders with carryover contribute their fair share to the costs of operating the storages.  A methodology has been developed to guide the Water Resource Manager in northern Victoria (Goulburn Murray Water) on when to declare a risk of storages spilling. 

Carryover rules on the Broken, Loddon and Bullarook regulated systems will remain the same as for the 2009-10 season. These systems, which have smaller storages and different inflow patterns, require more work to assess the additional benefit that spillable water account arrangements could provide.

Related actions from the NRSWS:
5.4: Introducing new carryover rules

Licensing

The Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy introduced a State-wide change for new or altered domestic and stock dams (and aesthetic dams) in rural residential areas. Under the changes, property owners in rural residential areas are required to register any new or altered domestic and stock dams with their rural water corporation.

The policy aims to collect information about the growth of domestic and stock water use across Victoria to improve our understanding and management of the resource.

A rural residential area is any property located within the rural living zone, green wedge zones and any residential zone as defined by Victoria’s Planning Schemes, or any property that is eight hectares (20 acres) or smaller.

As part of the policy, domestic & stock guidelines and improved methods for dam registration are being finalised through consultation with the Statewide Licensing Steering Committee.

Some other licensing actions being implemented include: 

• The Department of Sustainability continues to review aspects of the Ministerial guidelines for managing unregulated and groundwater supplies to streamline processes
• Policies for managing take and use licenses were released in September 2010. Amendments will include clarifying roles and responsibilities in the licensing and management of stormwater. 
• Ministerial policies outlining management arrangements for section 67 works licences, managed aquifer recharge and local management rules are in the final draft stage.
• The Upper Ovens Integrated Management Plan is being developed, with the Management Consultative Committee recently meeting in Bright.

Related actions from the NRSWS:
4.1: Improving management of domestic and stock water use
4.2: Determining ‘reasonable domestic and stock guidelines’
4.4: Ministerial guidelines for licensing unregulated and groundwater supplies
4.5: Standard licence conditions and improved records of licence information
4.9: Managing groundwater/surface water interaction

Victorian Environmental Water Holder

Legislation to establish the Victorian Environmental Water Holder was passed by the Victorian Parliament on 13 August 2010. The legislation establishes the Water Holder as an independent statutory body responsible for managing the State's environmental water entitlements.

It is intended that the Water Holder will commence operations from July 2011. The Water Holder will hold, manage and coordinate the delivery of environmental entitlements in a way that will optimise environmental benefits. They will streamline the management of this water across catchments, protecting the highest Statewide priorities, and ensuring greater efficiency and transparency in the way environmental water is used. The Water Holder will be able to trade water, but only where there is a benefit to the environment. As such, trading activity is expected to be modest. The Water Holder will provide a single point of contact for coordinating delivery of environmental water held by both the State and Commonwealth governments.

The role of catchment management authorities in local planning for, and delivery of, environmental water was also formalised through the legislation.

The next steps will be working out the Ministerial rules in consultation with catchment management authorities, water corporations and other stakeholders in the next few months. 

For more details refer to the Environmental Water Holder page on the Our Water website.

Related actions from the NRSWS:
7.2: Establishing a Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH)

In this section

Further Information

You can get more information about the development of the Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy from the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s customer service centre on 136 186. Or check the latest Minister for Water media releases.