With the 2024/25 irrigation season coming to an end on May 15, Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) is encouraging customers to utilise any unused water they have.
GMW Water Delivery Services general manager Warren Blyth said customers entering the last weeks of the irrigation season with unused water had different options they could explore.
“Even after a busy irrigation season like this one, there are still invariably irrigators who end the season with unused water in their accounts,” he said.
“We are eager to ensure our customers make the most of any allocation they have left.
“If customers aren’t planning to use their allocation before the end of the irrigation season, they have the option of selling this allocation, or, depending on the region they are in, carrying over their allocation.”
Carrying over water allows customers to keep some or all of their unused allocation for the next irrigation season.
Customers with water shares in the Broken, Bullarook, Campaspe, Goulburn, Loddon and Murray systems can all carryover unused allocation, however, the rules between these systems vary.
Customers can sell unused allocation regardless of the system they are in and can either find a buyer themselves or use a broker to do so.
The sale of unused water allocation must be completed by 12pm on 30 June 2025.
The Victorian Water Register’s carryover calculator is a helpful tool to understand how carryover rules work in northern Victoria and explore how carryover, spills and seasonal determinations affect the amount of water available against customers’ entitlements in different scenarios.
The calculator can be found on the Victorian Water Register website
For further details on carryover and the rules that apply to different systems, people can visit the GMW's End of Season webpage
Water entitlement holders on the Campaspe, Goulburn and Murray systems can opt to relinquish water that they do not wish to carryover. Further details on relinquishing water are available on the GMW's Relinquising Unused Water Allocation webpage
For more information on options for unused water, phone GMW’s Customer Experience Team on 1800 013 357.
Background
- The irrigation season closes on 15 May 2025, with 10 May being the final day people can place orders.