Unregulated Systems
An unregulated catchment is one that does not contain a storage managed by a Water Authority to provide releases in order to meet the water needs of downstream customers. An unregulated catchment may contain rivers, creeks and numerous small waterways and in the case of several unregulated catchments in Victoria, extend well over 1,000 km2 in area.
Goulburn-Murray Water's management of water quantity within unregulated catchments is undertaken through a licensing regime for the taking and use of water. All water use for commercial or irrigation purposes must be licensed; this includes water taken from dams. Being wholly within the Murray Darling Basin, all licenses for new developments must be sourced from existing licenses through trading. The use of water and trading of licenses between users are managed by G-MW to share water resources between users, which include the environment.
Due to the unregulated nature of catchment flows, processes are used by G-MW to assess transfer applications to ensure that the delicate balance between the adequate reliability of supply to consumptive use is maintained whilst protecting the environment. These processes also involve referrals to key agencies such as the Catchment Management Authorities and the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
A system of restrictions to the take and use of water is also used by G-MW to manage the sharing of water during dry periods between users, including the environment. As determined by the Catchment Management Authority priority, Stream Flow Management Plans (SFMPs) are developed flow stressed unregulated streams and rivers. Stream Flow Management Plans utilise an intensive process which includes a detailed assessment of both environmental flow requirements and water user needs in order to develop a plan to include specific management rules for these priority catchments.
