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Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW)

Irrigation allocations for 2007/08 continue to be extremely low because of prolonged dry conditions.

G-MW made its latest allocation announcement for the 2007/2008 season on 1 November. Current allocations for high reliability water shares are as follows:

	1st November 2007	Change since 1 October 2007
Goulburn	29%	6%
Murray	20%	4%
Broken	18%	3%
Campaspe	2%	1%
Loddon	5%	0%
Bullarook	0%	0%

The Goulburn system allocation has increased by 6% to 26% and the gravity irrigation season extended to customary closing date of 15 May 2008. This increase has been supported by small inflows in the upper catchment. 

The allocation in the Murray system has increased by 4% to 20% and the gravity irrigation season extended to 15 April 2008. The announcement of a 20% allocation means that the trigger for expiry of the qualification of rights in the Murray system has been reached. All water use by customers, regardless of purpose, must now be in accordance with the allocated volume. 

The seasonal allocation for the Broken system has increased by 3% to 18%. Continuous access to water is available until 30 November 2007. Access after 30 November will be rostered to maximise water use efficiency. 

The Loddon system seasonal allocation remains at 5%. Customers will have rostered access one in every four weeks. 

Allocations have increased to 2% on the Campaspe system. All orders on the Campaspe will be rostered to minimise system losses. 

There is not enough water in the Bullarook system for an irrigation allocation. Bullarook Creek customers have access to water for qualified rights for the balance of the season. 

Using August to October inflows as a guide to future summer flows, the most optimistic seasonal allocations at 15 February 2008 are approximately:

• 45% in the Goulburn system;
• 28% in the Murray system. 

G-MW will provide the next allocation announcement on 15 November 2007. 

The Government announced $2.6 million funding to meet the cost of pumping the Waranga Basin in 2007/08 under the recently announced Drought Assistance Package. The pumping program added 7% to the initial allocation for Goulburn system irrigators this season. 

G-MW has announced that up to 5,000 ML of current season allocations can be transferred from the Lower Goulburn River trading zone into the Greater Goulburn water trading zones as well as Loddon Weir Pool, Lower Campaspe and Lower Broken Creek. The opening up of this trade opportunity will give buyers and sellers more options in the water market 

The Minister for Water has temporarily qualified rights to water in the Murray, Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe, Loddon and Bullarook systems under section 33AAA(1) of the Water Act 1989. This means that water can be taken from these supply systems for selected purposes, even whilst the allocation to high reliability water shares is low.

Once allocations reach 20% on the Murray and Broken systems, and 50% on the Campaspe, Loddon and Bullarook systems, normal operating rules will resume.

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Coliban Rural System

This year’s Coliban System rural season opened with a 30% allocation of licensed volume. The allocation for rural customers is the minimum needed to run the rural system with some efficiency. As of 1 November, Coliban system headworks were holding 17.5% of capacity.

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Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Supply System

Inflows to Grampians Headworks storages have dropped off following below average rainfall since May 2007. 

At 31 October 2007, storages in the Wimmera Mallee domestic and stock supply system had fallen to 5.7% of capacity. 

GWMW began the winter channel run in September with the aim of filling occupied house dams on all winter channels that will not be piped in the next 12 months. 

While inflows have been lower than planned, GWMW are still expecting to fill all house dams by the end of November. However if low inflow conditions persist, additional pumping infrastructure may be required to pump dead storage from Taylors Lake to supply the run. 

Stock and Domestic customers who do not have house dams can fill one dam per enterprise. In addition, intensive industry customers supplied by the channel system will be entitled to 50% of their entitlement, or enough water to meet their intensive industry water needs. 

Water carting to properties receiving a dam fill will be withdrawn once each dam has been filled. Water carting permits will still be issued in cases where people do not receive a dam fill but need water for stock and crop spraying needs. 

GWMW expects that about 2,500 dams, or 18% of the total number of dams in the channel system, will be filled. Customers on the Wimmera Mallee pipeline systems 1 and 5 will not be supplied a dam fill; however carting in those areas will continue until they get a pipeline supply later this year. 

GWMW are currently reviewing arrangements for the summer channel run, which supplies Clear Lake, Natimuk and Noradjuha. Current forecasts indicate that there will not be enough water available for the run to occur this summer. However, Natimuk and Noradjuha received enough local runoff in April and May this year to meet demands until mid 2008 on stage 4 restrictions. Clear Lake is receiving water via carting at present, which is considered to be a satisfactory arrangement for the coming year. 

Supplies to all customer groups are being made available in accordance with the restriction schedule contained in the Wimmera-Glenelg Bulk Entitlements. Restrictions are as follows:

• towns are on Stage 4 restrictions;
• irrigation supplies are again zero;
• no supply is available for irrigation diversions on Wimmera River; 
• supply to recreation lakes has been nil since 2000. 

GWMW released 2,480 ML of 2005/06 environmental carry over water between 25 September 2007 and 31 October 2007 to maintain the last remaining drought refuge areas in the Wimmera River for threatened cat fish species, blackfish and river red gums. In 2006 this flow was held over for emergency purposes until there was sufficient water in Grampians storages to permit a channel run.

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Southern Rural Water

Macalister Irrigation District (MID)

Lake Glenmaggie, the principal source of water for the MID, is now at 92.2% of capacity. 

The 2007/08 irrigation season opened on 15 August with an allocation of 100%. SRW has since made 5% of low reliability water shares available. 

However, below average rainfall in late winter and early spring saw off-quota water finish in early September. Off-quota is normally available well into spring. 

In the absence of further off-quota water becoming available, any further increases in the allocation will depend on further inflows over summer and autumn.

Latrobe System

Water availability on the Latrobe system increased throughout November with Blue Rock Lake increasing to 76.1% of capacity. However, the current irrigation share stands at just 2,182 ML due to being drawn down last season. This equates to about 20% of regulated allocation. 

Southern Rural Water (SRW) license holders downstream on the Latrobe and Tanjil Rivers can currently pump up to their licensed volume from unregulated flows (which normally contribute some 70% of entitlements). SRW will announce a formal initial allocation for the 2007/08 season when unregulated flows in the Latrobe reduce to the minimum environmental flows.

Werribee Basin (Bacchus Marsh and Werribee Irrigation District)

SRW’s share of the Werribee Basin storages fell to 10.6% of capacity during October (a decrease of 1% since 30 September). This level is low for this time of year. 

SRW made an opening seasonal allocation for 2007/08 on 1 July of 0% water right and 100% domestic and stock. SRW has committed to pumping dead storage from Pykes Creek reservoir, which has enabled the allocation to be increased to 5% water right for the system. 

Whilst inflows to the storages during July were promising, they have since tapered off due to a lack of consistent rainfall. This is of some concern, as allocations for irrigation are historically dependent on winter/spring inflows. 

A range of measures are in place to assist in ameliorating the supply situation:

• Irrigators in the Werribee area will continue to participate in the recycling scheme. Some 7,300 ML of recycled water was delivered to approximately 85% of all growers last season. However, some irrigators have expressed preference for the use of some river water to allow shandying, particularly over summer.
• A Ministerial-approved revision of the depth boundary for the Merrimu GMA has allowed for additional access to groundwater for Bacchus Marsh growers.
• The Minister for Water has again approved a qualification of rights to unallocated water in Merrimu Reservoir to maintain business viability in Bacchus Marsh. A total of 800 ML has been made available. 

SRW is also considering transferring water from the drought reserve in the Thomson reservoir. 

Levels in the Deutgam Groundwater Management Area declined through 2005/06 and again during 2006/07, despite very low allocations. In order to protect the resource from seawater intrusion SRW have qualified and suspended rights, effectively banning groundwater use in the GMA as of 27 June 2007. SRW continue to monitor levels in the aquifer, however will only allow access to the resource when the risk of doing so has diminished.

Maribyrnong Basin

The storage volume in Rosslynne Reservoir dropped slightly throughout October to 4.9% of capacity. With inflows well below average, SRW diverters face another season of low, possibly zero, allocations. 

SRW announced an initial allocation of 0% of licensed volume for the 2007/08 season on 3 August.

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