Transferable Water Entitlements
The ability to transfer water in Victorian Irrigation Districts was introduced in the late 1980s. In the 1994/95 irrigation season, the ability to trade between water right and diversion licences was confirmed, and water was allowed to be traded between a larger number of areas.
Goulburn-Murray Water generally seeks to encourage water trading, to maximise the economic benefit from irrigation water use, and to allow irrigators to better manage their farming enterprises. Proposed water trades are assessed to determine if the channel system can deliver the additional water without unduly affecting other customers, and maximum water application rates are checked to ensure the transfer will not exacerbate salinity problems.
Goulburn-Murray Water can prevent trading if more than 2% of the total water right is traded out of an Area in any irrigation season. This provision protects remaining irrigators from substantial rises in price that may be necessary to cover water delivery system costs in the event of a rapid reduction in water supplied in an Area.
For more detailed information about water trading click here.
