Carryover was introduced in the Murray and Goulburn water systems of northern Victoria in early 2007 as an emergency drought measure and under conservative rules to limit the amount that individuals could carry over.
After the initial success in 2007, carryover was made permanent later that year and extended to the Campaspe, Broken, Loddon and Bullarook water systems, effective in mid-2008, with a future review flagged to investigate ways to improve the rules for all water users. The terms and conditions for carryover in these first two years are available below.
Terms and conditions for carryover_2008 (PDF - 417 Kb)
A review of the carryover rules to give users greater choice in managing their water was conducted through the Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy. Analysis on the adoption of carryover to date (see report below) supported the proposal in the Draft Strategy for some limited changes to take effect in mid-2009, prior to completing a final review before 2010.
NRSWS BR7A_Analysis of carryover options for Draft Strategy (PDF - 656 Kb)
The limit on carryover was increased from 30 to 50 per cent of entitlement volume in 2009. The terms and conditions for carryover in 2009 are available below.
Terms and conditions for carryover_2009 (PDF - 656 Kb)
Background Report 7C (below) describes the broader analysis undertaken to support the final review of carryover options in the Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy.
NRSWS BR7C_Analysis of Carryover and Options Rights to Storage (PDF - 422 Kb)
Based on this review a paper was released to seek feedback on the proposed final carryover arrangements to be implemented for 2010.
NRSWS BR7B_Proposal for future carryover arrangements (PDF - 422 Kb)
This proposal introduced the concept of the ‘spillable water account’, allowing entitlement-holders to retain their carryover when allocations reach 100 per cent so long as there is available capacity in the water storages.
After consultation (see project update below), the final Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy committed to the implementation of these new carryover rules to overcome the limitations of the 100 per cent rule, and give greater flexibility to all entitlement holders to manage their water availability.
NRSWS Project Update 6_Carryover (PDF - 422 Kb)
Following the deliberations of an Implementation Committee comprising key stakeholders, the new carryover rules for the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe water systems were confirmed in 2010.
Carryover rules on the Broken, Loddon and Bullarook regulated systems currently remain the same as for the 2009 season. These systems, which have smaller storages and different inflow patterns, require more work to assess the additional benefit that spillable water account arrangements could provide.
Statistics and reports on the use of carryover in northern Victoria are available here.