Carryover

Carryover Calculator - Water Register Website

The Caryover Calculator is designed to help you understand how carryover rules currently work n norhtern Victoria.

You can use it to explore how carryover and allocations affect the amount of water available under your entitlements in defferent scenarios.

Click here to view the calculator on the Victorian Water website

Download a copy of the 2013/14 season carryover brochure

G-MW has developed an extensive guide to understanding carryover for the Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe, Loddon, Bullarook and Murray regulated river systems. See the information below or download the carryover brochure to help plan your carryover for the 2013/14 season.

Carryover Brochure (1.25 MB)

Quick Links

1. Goulburn, Murray and Campaspe Systems
2. Broken, Loddon and Bullarook Systems

Some definitions

Allocation is the volume of water available to entitlement holders. It is the amount of water available from seasonal determinations to your water shares, plus any water carried over or traded, less usage.

Carryover is an arrangement that allows unused water from one season to be taken into the next season for use or trade.

Allocation account (ABA) - Allocations made throughout the season are credited to an allocation account. The balance of an allocation account is the amount of water available for the current season.

High-reliability water share (HRWS) is a water share against which seasonal determinations are made as a first priority.

Low-reliability water share (LRWS) is a water share with a relatively low reliability of supply.

Linked allocation account is an allocation account linked to a water share, limited term transfer of a water share or supply by agreement. Water that is not in a linked allocation account is not eligible for carryover.

Spillable water is additional water above your full entitlement volume. This water cannot be used or traded until the Resource Manager declares a low risk of spill. It is only lost if the dams spill.

Spillable water account is a feature of your existing allocation account where your spillable water is recorded. It keeps track of casual access to storage space and any water which may be lost if the dams spill.

Low risk of spill declaration is made by the Northern Victorian Resource Manager at a point in the season when it is determined that there is a low risk of the storages spilling. If you have water in your spillable water account, the declaration makes your spillable water available in your allocation account for use and trade.

Carryover - Goulburn, Murray and Campaspe Systems

End of 2012/13 Season

Do I have to carry over my unused allocation?

CHANGE: If you are a Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe water entitlement holder you can elect not to carry over some or all of your unused allocation into 2013/14 and future seasons by returning it to the pool of water for new allocations.

If you do not want to carry over unused allocation you must arrange to relinquish the water by contacting G-MW or applying online athttp://waterregister.vic.gov.au

For more information refer to Fact Sheet 4 on the Victorian Water Register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/CarryoverExplained.aspx

Is the unused allocation you want to carry over in a linked allocation account?

Your unused allocation that you want to carry over must be in an allocation account linked to a water share, supply by agreement or active limited term transfer of a water share on 1 July to be eligible for carryover. If your unused allocation is not in a linked allocation account, it will be written off at the end of the season.

It is important to make sure your unused allocation is in the allocation account linked to the water shares you want your carryover to be recorded against.

If you are unsure about your options, please seek advice from a professional adviser or broker so that you make the best arrangements for your individual situation.

How much allocation can I carry over?

CHANGE: A new limit on the volume of water that can be carried over will apply. Entitlement holders will not be able to carry over more than their full water share volume. This limit will apply on the Goulburn and Campaspe systems from the end of the current 2012/13 season. On the Murray system, the new limit on carryover will apply the end of the 2013/14 season.

For more information refer to Fact Sheet 3 on the Victorian Water Register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/CarryoverExplained.aspx

• Goulburn and Campaspe Systems - From 30 June 2013, you can carryover up to 100% of the water entitlement volume in your linked allocation account. Any unused allocation in excess of the 100% of water entitlement volume will be returned to the general resource pool.

• Murray System - All of the allocation in your linked allocation account on 30 June is eligible for carryover - there is no maximum for 2012/13. However, a limit of 100% of the water entitlement volume in your linked allocation account will apply from 30 June 2014.

For all three major systems (Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe) 5% of the amount you carry over will be deducted from the volume of unused allocation to allow for evaporation in storage in the following season.

Does selling a water share affect my eligibility for carryover?

If there are no active water entitlements linked to your allocation account at 30 June, then you cannot carry over unused allocation into the next season. If you have sold water shares during the year, you should check if your allocation account is eligible for carryover.

Start of 2013/14 Season

How much allocation can I trade or use at the start of the season?

From 1 July, you can immediately access any carried over allocation and new season allocation up to your full entitlement volume. This water is recorded in the available balance of your allocation account.

Any new season allocations in excess of 100% of your entitlement volume will be quarantined as spillable water.

Can I access the allocation in my spillable water account?

You can use any carryover and new season allocations up to the full volume of high and low-reliability water shares linked to your allocation account. Any extra water that is allocated above your water share is recorded as spillable water in your account. You cannot use or trade your spillable water until the Resource Manager makes a low-risk-of-spill declaration. Once the declaration has been made your remaining spillable water is added to the available balance of your allocation account and you can use or trade this water.

For more information refer to Fact Sheet 6 on the Victorian Water Register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/CarryoverExplained.aspx

What if I buy additional allocation early in the season?

Any allocation traded into your account after 1 July will automatically be added to the available balance of your allocation account and is available for immediate use.

CHANGE: New controls on allocation trade to the Victorian Murray and between states have been implemented to avoid sudden trade suspensions.

For more information refer to Fact Sheet 7 on the Victorian Water Register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/CarryoverExplained.aspx

If I use or sell the allocation early in the season, can I top up my allocation account balance from my spillable water account?

No, until the low risk of spill declaration, you can only use or trade the volume in the available balance of your allocation account.

Spills

How much will I lose if the storages spill?

If there is a spill before the low risk of spill declaration is made, you will lose some of your spillable water.

All spillable water account balances will be reduced proportionally, in line with the volume of the spill.

Any deductions for spills are advised at each allocation announcement until the declaration. If there is a major spill, it is possible that all spillable accounts may be reduced to zero.

A spill has no impact on the volume available for trade or use in your allocation account. Once allocation is recorded as available in your allocation account, it stays there until it is used or traded.

A spill at which storage counts as a spill?

CHANGE: A new spill rule based on Hume Dam will apply on the Murray system from July 2013. This will protect new allocations to existing water shares because each year carryover will spill first. This ensures that the dams can capture inflows for new allocations.

For more information refer to Fact Sheet 2 on the Victorian Water Register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/CarryoverExplained.aspx

• Victoria's share of Hume Dam for the Murray system

• Lake Eildon for the Goulburn system

• Lake Eppalock for the Campaspe system

Spills at other storages in your system have no impact on your spillable water account volume.

Do pre-releases from dams affect my spillable water?

If G-MW has to make pre-releases after 1 July to slow the rate of filling the storages, the released volume is treated as a spill and is proportionally deducted from your spillable water account balance. Pre-releases do not affect the volumes available in your allocation account.

What is the risk of losing my spillable water as a result of a spill?

The Resource Manager publishes probability of spill indicators to help you understand the likelihood of spill and make informed decisions about your carryover.

Probability of spill indicators are available online at the Northern Victorian Resource Manager website http://www.nvrm.net.au/

What happens if the storage spills after the low risk of spill declaration has been made?

Once the Resource Manager has declared a low risk of spill, all of the remaining spillable water account balance is made available in your allocation account and your spillable water account balance is reduced to zero. A spill later in the season has no impact on the volume in your allocation account.

When will the Resource Manager make the low risk of spill declaration?

On 1 July, the Resource Manager will assess current volumes in store, forecast inflows and expected releases. If the risk of spill is still greater than 10%, no declaration will be made. This process will continue on the 10th of each month (or next business day) until the risk declines to a low level.

The Resource Manager will declare a low risk of spill once it is determined there is a low risk - less than 10% probability - of the storage spilling later in the season. This depends entirely on seasonal conditions.

The Resource Manager will endeavour to make the declaration as early as possible in the season.

Fees and Charges

CHANGE: You will always be charged when you carry over and store more water than your entitlement in the dams.

For more information refer to Fact Sheet 5 on the Victorian Water Register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/CarryoverExplained.aspx

Will I be charged for the volume held in my spillable water account?

If you carry over water you will always be charged when you store more in the dam that your total water share during the season. Fees do not apply to water that spills.

Why do I get charged for extra spillable water?

This charge ensures that water share owners who access more storage than their entitlement volume contribute their fair share of the cost of operating and maintaining the storages. The revenue generated from spillable account fees offsets revenue recovered from annual fixed entitlement storage fees.

Who pays for spillable water charges?

The spillable water account fee is charged to the owner of the water share when the first variable account is issued, not the date the declaration is made. If the ownership of a water share changes before the account is issued, the new owner is responsible for paying the account.

A full list of the spillable water account charges you may be charged are published on the G-MW website at www.gmwater.com.au/feesandcharges These rates are the same as the low-reliability entitlement storage fee.

Accessing your Water

How much water is reserved?

CHANGE: The Goulburn early reserve policy will remain in place to give confidence that water can be

delivered to irrigators and towns when it's needed early in the season. But from the 2013/14 season, less water will be set aside in early reserves to reflect the delivery efficiencies achieved through the Connections Project.

New arrangements for the Murray reserve policy are being brought in for the 2013/14 season. Like on the Goulburn, some of the existing reserve will now be set aside in the dams earlier, before high-reliability allocations get to 100 percent.

For more information refer to Fact Sheets 8 & 9 on the Victorian Water Register website at http://waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/CarryoverExplained.aspx

How soon can I have my allocation delivered?

Pumped districts and diverters on all the regulated river systems can access their carried over allocation from 1 July. G-MW will consider requests for the delivery of allocation to customers on the channel network before 15 August and will endeavour to make deliveries where possible, but cannot guarantee delivery until the system is in operation.

What happens to my allocation, carryover and spillable water if I sell my water shares?

Allocation, carryover and spillable water are all part of the balance in your allocation account. Even if you sell your water share, you retain your allocation account and any remaining balance in your ownership.

Carryover - Broken, Loddon and Bullarook Systems

Is your allocation in a linked allocation account?

To carry over your unused allocation it must be held in an allocation account that is linked to a water share, supply by agreement, or an active limited term transfer of a water share on 1 July each year.

How much allocation can I carry over?

You can carry over a maximum volume equivalent to 50% of your high-reliability water share and 50% of your low-reliability water share.

Remember, the high-reliability and low-reliability water shares must be linked to the same allocation account which holds the allocation you want to carry over.

Do I need to apply to carry over allocation?

No, unused allocation in a linked allocation account at 30 June will automatically carry over to the following season as follows:

• Your unused allocation will first be carried over and recorded against any high-reliability water share linked to the allocation account - up to 50% of your high-reliability water.
• Any additional unused allocation will then be carried over and recorded against any low-reliability water share linked to the allocation account - up to 50% of your low-reliability water share.
• 5% is deducted from each water share for evaporation losses.

I have more allocation than I can carry over, what can I do with it?

If you want to carry over more allocation than the equivalent to 50% of the high-reliability water share and 50% of the low-reliability water share linked to your allocation account, you can transfer the extra allocation to another linked allocation account. Or you can use or sell this excess volume before the end of the current season.

Unused allocation that is not in a linked allocation account will be written off and returned to the pool to meet needs for the following season - including new season allocations.

How much allocation can I access at the start of the season?

You can access all water in your allocation account from 1 July. This allocation is available for use or trade.

Will my carried over allocation affect new season allocations?

If, during the course of next season, the sum of the allocation carried over against your high-reliability water share (as at 1 July 2013) and 2013/14 high-reliability allocation reaches 100% of your high-reliability water share volume, you will not receive any further 2013/14 high-reliability allocation.

The point at which you stop receiving further allocation will not change if you sell or use allocation, or sell water shares during the 2013/14 season. For example, if you carry over the equivalent of 50% of your high-reliability water share, you will start the 2013/14 season with an effective allocation of 47.5% after the 5% evaporation allowance is deducted. Once the 2013/14 high-reliability water share allocation reaches 52.5% you will not receive further high-reliability allocation improvements for the remainder of the 2013/14 season. The same principle applies to allocation carried over against low-reliability water shares.