Updated 19 January 2026
What is rationing and how does it affect me?
Rationing is the sharing of available channel capacity when demand exceeds channel capacity.
Your ordered volume or the time you requested your order may be altered to a reduced volume or reduced duration in accordance with the amount of delivery share you hold and the duration of the ration cycle.
For more information, please see our General information about rationing page.
Does rationing cost me anything?
No, there will not be any additional costs charged to your GMW account.
Will I be charged for casual use?
Access during rationing events is based on delivery share held by the customer at each service point. The larger the delivery share, the greater the volume that can be accessed during a rationing cycle.
A customer’s Annual Delivery Allowance (ADA) is their total delivery share (ML/day) multiplied by 270 for gravity irrigation areas and by 365 days for pumped irrigation districts.
Any water used in excess of a customer’s ADA is called casual use. A casual use fee will apply to each megalitre of water delivered during the season in excess of the ADA. This is raised at the end of the irrigation season on the Variable Charge Account. Rationing does not impact whether a customer is charged casual use.
For example, if a customer in a gravity irrigation area has a total of 1 ML/d of delivery share, their ADA is 270 ML. If they used 300 ML in the season, casual use would be charged for 30 ML.
Any applications to move delivery share to avoid casual use charges will need to be completed prior to the end of the season.
Does it affect domestic and stock supply?
Rationing does not affect domestic and stock supply.
What if I ignore the rationing and take what I intended to order?
Operating outside the rationing criteria will impact the service to other customers and will therefore be investigated by GMW’s Compliance Officers and may lead to prosecution.
I pay more for water, why don’t I get priority treatment?
Access during rationing events is based on delivery share held by the customer at each service point. The larger the delivery share, the greater the volume that can be accessed during a rationing cycle.
Will I be notified when changes to the rationing arrangements are made?
Yes, messages will be updated on WaterLINE whenever changes are made to the rationing arrangements. You may also be contacted by a Water Systems Operator about your order.
Is rationing possible for the 2025/26 season in the Loddon Valley?
Yes. While channel performance is one factor in determining the need for rationing, other factors include weather conditions, irrigation demand and the availability of water via the Loddon Bulk Entitlement (Loddon Supplement). The Loddon Supplement can sometimes be used to avoid or delay rationing, however, replenishment of the supplement is dependent on seasonal conditions, catchment inflows and will only begin to refill with rainfall.
Why is the Loddon Supplement not available?
When there’s plenty of water in the Loddon River system, we can use the Loddon Supplement - a water entitlement in the Loddon system that helps supply the Goulburn system - to support demand in Boort. This is done by sending water through the Loddon Weir pool into the Waranga Western Channel.
Even though the Loddon Supplement isn’t available this year, we avoided rationing in spring 2025 because rainfall arrived at the right times for crops, and we were able to plan deliveries carefully. This included making the most of channel capacity and using water from the Loddon inter‑valley trade (IVT) account when available.
Will delivery share fees be waived again if rationing occurs?
In the last rationing event, the fees for varying or transferring delivery shares were waived. If rationing is needed again, we will continue to waive these application fees (Forms 35 and 36) for customers impacted by rationing.
What impact did the winter works program have on the Waranga Western Channel?
Maintenance and upgrade works on the Waranga Western Channel during winter 2025 have improved water delivery upstream of Bears Lagoon.
Downstream of this point, the channel still has capacity limits and constraints. If demand becomes very high, these limits could cause congestion - especially because there’s no extra water available from the Loddon Supplement to boost supply.
What role does GMW play in land use planning?
As a referral authority for land use planning, we assess the impact that applications for certain land use and development proposals may have on surface and ground water quality, as well as our assets and infrastructure. However, we don’t have the authority to influence or guide on-farm practice changes e.g. shifts from dairy farm to cropping.