Murray to Goulburn Backtrade Volume

The Victorian trading rules for Declared Water Systems allow for backtrade from the Murray to the Goulburn trading zones
(see http://www.waterregister.vic.gov.au/Public/RulesMaps.aspx for details of trading rules).

Backtrade is possible as a result of downstream trade from the Goulburn system to the Murray. Over a number of years, Goulburn water entitlements have been permanently traded into the Murray system under exchange rate trading arrangements. The volume of entitlements traded has been tracked and accounted for. When seasonal allocations are made for the Goulburn system, water is allocated against these Goulburn system entitlements that have been traded into the Murray. The water is tracked via the Goulburn Valley Account. This account represents water held in the Goulburn system storages for release to the Murray.

Allocation trade from the Goulburn to the Murray also increases the available balance in the Goulburn Valley Account, as does water generated through water savings projects undertaken in the Goulburn system as part of the Snowy or Living Murray programs. As water is called out for release to the Murray by the system operator, the account is reduced accordingly. When there is a positive balance in the Goulburn Valley Account, water can be traded back from the Murray to the Goulburn and the account is reduced to reflect these back trades. The water that would have been released to the Murray is redirected into the Goulburn system to cover the backtraded volumes.