Customers asked to comment on Carryover proposals
Customers asked to comment on Carryover proposals
Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW) is encouraging interested customers to provide feedback to the Department of Sustainability and Environment's review of carryover in 2006/07 and a proposal to extend carryover as a drought response measure.
According to G-MW Managing Director Russell Cooper the review is an important step in confirming arrangements for carryover of irrigation supplies from 2007/08 season into next season, 2008/09.
"Through our Water Service Committees we intend to provide feedback on the 2006/07 arrangements with a view to confirming arrangements for the coming year," said Mr Cooper.
Chair of the Water Markets and Irrigation Reforms Steering Committee, John Dainton, said carryover was introduced last season as a 12 month, drought response measure, with a commitment to review this measure and consult prior to any decision on ongoing carryover arrangements
"With irrigators facing extremely difficult circumstances in the continuing drought, it is not an appropriate time to be asking them to consider such permanent arrangements. Instead comment will be sought on a proposal to extend carryover as a drought response strategy until the current drought breaks. Consultation on permanent arrangements for carryover would be deferred until then," said Mr Dainton.
"Carryover has proved extremely useful this season, enabling horticulturalists and other customers to access water early in the season, and generally improving irrigators' capacity to manage their own risks in difficult circumstances," said Mr Dainton.
A Carryover discussion paper has been circulated to rural water corporations' customer committees and other representative bodies. This paper asks for comment on the proposal to extend carryover and the terms of such an extension.
Two options for extension discussed in the paper;
- § to extend carryover under the same rules as last year;
- § to amend the rules to allow entitlement holders to record any water that they carry over firstly against their low-reliability water share. This amendment would reduce the risk to irrigators that carryover water may be lost in the following season, due to the 100 per cent limit on water carried over plus seasonal allocation against each water share.
Comment from representative bodies will be sought during October. If representative bodies express support for an amendment to the carryover rules, then a series of public forums may be convened in early November to discuss both options.
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