Victorian Water Register

Details

14 January 2021

Delivering water in the Murray system has always been challenging due to the long distances. It takes about three weeks to deliver water from Hume Dam to Sunraysia. “Shortfalls” can occur when river operators aren’t able to deliver people their water – including irrigators and the environment – where and when they want to use it.

In the River Murray downstream of the Barmah-Millewa reach, there has always been a risk of not being able to deliver all the water that water users are entitled to during peak demand periods over summer and autumn. River operators have a strong track record in actively managing the system to deliver water when and where it is wanted and avoiding such shortfalls. However, a shortfall can happen, if there is either

• a heatwave and a sudden spike in demand (a delivery shortfall)
• not enough capacity in the system to supply water to meet all downstream needs throughout summer and autumn (a system shortfall).

Understanding and managing delivery risks together

Victoria is working with the other River Murray states, New South Wales and South Australia, along with the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to better understand delivery risks, including how the risks are changing and how we can collectively manage them. The Independent Panel overseeing this interstate delivery risks work has reported that delivery risks are real, and that they will increase in the future.

A joint report, Managing Delivery Risks in the River Murray System, was published in November 2020 that presents key findings from recent studies about these risks and the actions needed to support governments and water users to manage them.

Download PDF Managing Delivery Risks in the River Murray System (PDF - 1,220 Kb)

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action has prepared a fact sheet that summarises the key elements of this report to help water users and communities better understand delivery risks in the River Murray System, what’s changing and the actions needed to help governments and water users respond to these risks.

Download PDF Fact sheet: Managing Delivery Risks in the River Murray System (PDF - 145 Kb)

Victoria is working with the other River Murray governments to make sure water users are better informed about their delivery risks, including the latest information about risks in this report, so they can consider these in managing their business risks.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (then DELWP), in collaboration with the Murray-Darling Basin Authority consulted with various key Commonwealth, cross-jurisdiction and Victorian stakeholders, and Traditional Owners about delivery risks in the River Murray in 2020. Feedback from Victorian stakeholders and Traditional Owners during this consultation has been captured in a Report and Snapshot.

The What We Heard Report provides context about key themes that were raised and discusses the next steps for the Victorian Government. The What We Heard Snapshot is a summary of the report and outlines the engagement approach, the key themes raised during the consultation and the next steps.

Download PDF What We Heard Report (PDF - 836 Kb)

Download PDF What We Heard Snapshot (PDF - 773 Kb)

What’s changing in the system

Significant changes across the connected Murray-Darling Basin over the last 10-20 years are making it increasingly difficult to deliver water where and when it is needed for irrigation, other consumptive uses, and the environment, without damaging the environmental health of our waterways. These changes include the timing and location of demand for water in the Murray downstream of Barmah, the reduced channel capacity through the Barmah-Millewa reach and less frequent access to water in the Menindee Lakes.

Climate change will further decrease supply due to less rainfall and increased demand due to warmer weather – this is expected to further exacerbate delivery risks in the Murray downstream of Barmah.

A high-level summary of the changes is presented in the figure below.

What is the being done to respond to increasing delivery risks?

In addition to working with the other River Murray governments to make sure delivery risks are minimised, the Victorian government:

• Introduced new Goulburn trading and river operating rules to ensure that traded water can be delivered within the ecological tolerances of Victorian rivers without increasing delivery risks.
• Amended Victoria’s Water Act to introduce the ‘Place of Take approvals’ framework to clarify and protect the rights of water users to have water delivered down rivers in a shortfall and enable more flexibility for water users to manage their own delivery risks through the trade of extraction share.
• Introduced a cap on extraction share in the Murray downstream of Barmah to protect the rights of existing entitlement holders and prevent their rights from being eroded.
• Continues to work with other states and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to make sure water users are informed about their delivery risks and prioritising clearer and certain delivery rights to water during peak extraction periods so water users can manage their own business risks.

More information

More information on these changes can be found in a series of reports prepared and commissioned jointly by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia to better understand and manage delivery risks. These include:

• Independent Panel on Capacity Risks Report (December 2019)
• An Investigation into the Location of Horticultural Water Demands
• Historical flows and water use in the southern connected Murray-Darling Basin
• Changes in irrigated crop area 2003 to 2021
• Review of historical water use
• Barmah Choke channel capacity and geomorphic investigation.

As more information becomes available it will be published on the MDBA’s water demand (shortfalls) website. 

What is the risk of River Murray shortfall this season? 

During the peak irrigation season the MBDA reports on the current risk of a delivery shortfall in the River Operations Weekly Report.

The Annual Operating Outlook for the River Murray System usually includes commentary on the risk of system shortfall each year. This outlook is published in July and updated in December.

What does this mean for you?

Water users in the Murray downstream of the Barmah-Millewa reach need to be aware that delivery risks are real and that while river operators will do everything they can to avoid shortfalls, there may be occasions where that can’t be done and their water use needs to be rationed. 

When shortfalls in the River Murray system cannot be avoided, the water available for delivery is shared between water users in the affected rationing area, including by water users in NSW and South Australia. This means water use needs to be temporarily rationed to fairly share the impacts of the shortfall.

In Victoria, water users are rationed in proportion to their extraction share (if a river diverter) or in proportion to their delivery share (if in an irrigation district).

The need to restrict water users has been very rare. River operators have been able to use the system’s buffering capacity to avoid the need for rationing of deliveries to Murray water users on all but two occasions. In March 2002, a 10 gigalitre shortfall affected all water users over a two-week period. Environmental water holders were also restricted on one occasion in late 2018 when channel capacity was fully committed to running the system to meet expected summer demands for both irrigation and environmental use.

To manage the impacts of a shortfall to their irrigation business, water users may choose to build on farm storage or talk to their water corporation about accessing additional delivery share or extraction share.  

River Murray shortfall fact sheets

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action has prepared fact sheets to help Victorian water users and communities better understand and manage shortfalls in the Murray River downstream of Barmah.

The first fact sheet explains what shortfalls are, how they are managed and how different water users may be impacted.

Download PDF Fact sheet: Shortfalls in the Victorian River Murray below Barmah (PDF - 110 Kb)

The second fact sheet provides a summary of River Murray delivery risks and how they are managed, and informs water users on what a shortfall means for them and how to stay informed.

Download PDF Fact sheet: River Murray Delivery Risks and What Shortfalls Mean for Victorian Water Users (PDF - 200 Kb)

Victorian River Murray Shortfall Response Plan

Victoria recognizes the importance of having a shortfall response plan in place to ensure that the response to such an event is coordinated and effective and limits the impacts and consequences for water users and the community.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action has prepared the Victorian River Murray Shortfall Response Plan to provide confidence and transparency in the process of managing shortfall events to Victorian water users and the community.

This plan is an operational plan outlining Victorian arrangements for the coordinated response to a delivery or system shortfall in the River Murray below Barmah. Its purpose is to ensure the response to a shortfall is implemented in a way which limits impacts and consequences for water users and the community, and meets the requirements of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

It is primarily used by the Victorian Government and agencies within the water sector with a role in the management of shortfall events. As an operational document it is subject to regular updates and will be amended over time.

This plan is based on Victorian interim water sharing arrangements for a shortfall, agreed to by Victorian agencies for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. In November 2023, the Water and Catchment Legislation Amendment Act 2021 will come into effect, amending the Water Act 1989. The changes will enable Victoria to adopt a new approach to water delivery entitlements that will empower water users to manage their own delivery risks in declared systems. This version of the Victorian River Murray Shortfall Response Plan will be updated to reflect the changes that are introduced by the new legislation once this comes into effect.

Download PDF Victorian River Murray Shortfall Response Plan (PDF - 1,202 Kb)

Details

31 May 2018

This page provides information on the volume of available (or unused) water held by private water holders, environmental water holders or water corporations for a selected regulated water system and year.

Further Insights

The following dashboard is an extension on the information above by providing further options on the level of detail for viewing the information on the available water by owner type. This dashboard provides summary information and a supporting detailed breakdown of the available and spillable water.

How do I use the available water by owner type dashboard?

Details

30 May 2018

Details

14 December 2013

Victoria's water resources are managed under a water entitlement framework which balances demands for water for both consumptive and environmental purposes.

All water taken for consumptive purposes in Victoria is done so under entitlements set out in the Water Act 1989.

Different entitlements are necessary depending on where and how water is taken, and what it is then used for.

Details

13 December 2013

DEECA uses data from the Victorian Water Register and other sources to produce the Victorian Water Accounts (VWA). The Accounts provide a year-by-year overview of water availability and use across Victoria at a bulk supply level. This includes a detailed water account for each of Victoria's 29 river basins and 20 groundwater catchments. Since 2003–04, we have published the Accounts each year in the form of a report.

The Victorian Water Accounts are now a completely digital offering, beginning with 2021–22, the 19th in its series.

The new site contains interactive data visualisations and data download options for multiple years, providing easier and more interactive ways to access the accounts.

Accounts for earlier years going back to 2003 remain available as PDFs on the new VWA website. For more reporting resources, please visit Water monitoring and reporting.

Contact the water reporting team if you have any queries or suggestions for the new digital product.

Details

11 September 2013

Diversions of water from rivers and streams in northern Victoria must abide by Murray-Darling Basin caps. These caps are effectively becoming lower as water is recovered for the environment in accordance with the Basin Plan. As shown here, all the systems in Victoria are well under the declining caps.

In many places across northern Victoria water use has decreased over recent years. The millennium drought has meant pressure on irrigation businesses, exacerbated in some industries and places by factors like the high Australian dollar and the January 2012 floods. Many businesses took advantage of government purchasing and modernisation programs to leave irrigation, while those that stayed tended to use water more economically.

Diversions compared with Murray-Darling Basin caps

How diversions from rivers is tracking against Murray-Darling Basin caps is reported in the table and graphs in the document below.

The material here shows that, in 2011/12, the diversion was under the cap target in all valleys. That is, there was a cap credit in each valley. In all valleys there is now an accumulated cap credit which is very high.

Changes in water use

Here is a map showing changes in water use in Goulburn-Murray Water's irrigation districts between 2003/04 and 2011/12.

(This map was compiled by officers from the former Department of Primary Industries using data from the Water Register and other sources.)

2014-15 water entitlements and use report

Summary information about all water entitlements and use recorded in the Victorian Water Register is now available in the report below.

In previous years this information was reported separately in each water corporation's annual report.  This new report provides a state-wide overview of this information as well as detail about each individual water corporation's data.

Water use by irrigators, towns & the environment

Summary information on water availability for irrigators, town supplies and the environment in northern Victoria, and how it was used in recent years, is now available in the reports below.

Download PDF 2013-14 Water entitlements allocations and use summary (PDF - 230 Kb)

Download PDF 2012-13 Water entitlements allocations and use summary (PDF - 392 Kb)

Details

24 July 2013

You can find information in this part of the site about the amount of water available to entitlement holders and how much has been used. 

Details

24 July 2013

Groundwater refers to water occurring beneath the surface. It is typically accessed by a bore. Accessing groundwater for purposes other than domestic and stock use in Victoria requires a take and use licence, and a works licence to cover bore operation.

To download a Copy of Record for an existing groundwater take-and-use licence, or works licence, click here. A sample Copy of Record of a take-and-use licence can be viewed here.

To generate a report summarising the aquifers and groundwater salinity in any Victorian location visit the Groundwater Resource Reports page on the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action website.

Restrictions on entitlement

Use of groundwater resources in a defined management area may be restricted by orders made by the Minister for Water. Permissible Consumptive Volumes (PCVs) cap 

Use of groundwater resources in a defined management area may be restricted by orders made by the Minister for Water. Permissible Consumptive Volumes (PCVs) cap the total volume of licensed entitlement in an area, while a temporary qualification of rights restricts a licence holder's right to take water under that licence for a certain period. 

To view a PCV order that the Minister has issued, search for PCV at deeca.vic.gov.au for the most recent information.

Details

24 July 2013

Unregulated waterways are streams or rivers where the flow is not interrupted by dams or weirs, and the volume of water available for diversion is based entirely on rainfall and runoff.

Accessing water for irrigation from unregulated waterways in Victoria requires a take and use licence, and may require a works licence.

Determining what is a waterway can be difficult, but is important because it has implications for licensing requirements. All dams on waterways require a section 67 works licence (except in some cases where an exemption order applies). A ‘waterway’ is defined in the Water Act 1989. The Minister for Water has endorsed guidelines to promote the consistent application of the definition.

Copies of records for an existing groundwater or unregulated waterway take-and-use licence, or works licence can be obtained from here.

Restrictions on entitlement

Surface water resources may be restricted by orders made by the Minister for Water. Permissible Consumptive Volumes (PCVs) cap the total volume of licensed entitlement in a river basin. To view the orders that the Minister has issued, search for PCV at deeca.vic.gov.au for the most recent information.

Details

24 July 2013

You can find out about the current risk of spill in the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe water systems here, along with details of any spill announcements that have reduced the volumes held in spillable water accounts.

The Resource Manager for northern Victoria, Goulburn-Murray Water, is responsible for making a declaration of low risk of spill, taking into account how full the dams are and the range of possible future inflows under prevailing climatic and catchment conditions.

The risk of spill is assessed on the 10th of each month until a low risk of spill declaration is made. The Resource Manager’s website now provides detailed analysis of the current risk of spill in each system

Current status of low risk of spill declaration

The table below shows the current status of low risk of spill declarations for each system.

Further information on the total volume of water that is held in spillable water accounts this season, and the allocated volumes currently available for use or trade can be found in the unused water report for each water system.

The Resource Manager also announces any spills in each water system with the regular seasonal determinations on the 1st and 15th of each month, and gives information on the risk of spill in the next season in the seasonal outlooks provided each February and May.

Spill determination history

Details

24 July 2013

This page provides information on the volume of water allocated or carried over in each of the regulated systems that is currently available for use or trade, including a graphical comparison with the previous two years.

Water which is not used remains in storage for use or trade later in the season or to be carried over into the next season (subject to the carryover rules).

In the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe systems any water quarantined in spillable water accounts is not available for use until a declaration of low risk of spill is made for the season. 

In some systems carryover is not allowed and so unused water is written off at the end of the season. This is the case in the Ovens system in the north and in the southern systems.

Details

23 July 2013

Throughout the water season, the resource manager makes seasonal determinations which specify the water that is available to holders of water shares, supply by agreements and bulk entitlements in declared systems.

The resource manager usually announces a determination as a percentage of the entitlement volume and as an increase since the last determination. Seasonal determinations are based on the water system source and the reliability of an entitlement.

Note that seasonal determinations are also commonly referred to as seasonal allocations.

Seasonal Determination Details

In northern Victoria, Goulburn-Murray Water is the Resource Manager. Assessments of the resource availability in the northern declared systems are made fortnightly during the irrigation season. You can view the current seasonal determinations for northern Victorian systems and outlooks here.

In the Thomson/Macalister and Bacchus Marsh/Werribee water systems, Southern Rural Water is the resource manager. You can view the current seasonal determinations for these southern systems here.

Seasonal Determination Summary

On this webpage you can search below to view a summary of seasonal determinations for a specified water system and reliability.