A copy of record contains all the details of the water entitlements recorded in the Victorian Water Register.

It can include details of the entitlement like its volume, who the owners are, water system source, and if there are any mortgages held over the entitlement.

Copies of most records of all water-related entitlements held in the Water Register can be downloaded from www.waterregister.vic.gov.au by entering the entitlement identification numbers and paying a fee.

Has been used as shorthand way of referring to a low risk of spill declaration.

This can be confused with a spill declaration, and also confused with the declaration by the Minister for Water of water systems to become unbundled.

As this can be confusing, it is better to not use this term by itself.

A water system that has been declared in accordance with section 6A of the Water Act 1989.

In these water systems, the old water rights and take and use licences have been converted into unbundled entitlements.

As of 2012, the declared water systems are: Broken, Bullarook, Campaspe, Goulburn, Loddon, Murray and Ovens which were all declared in July 2007 and the Werribee and Thomson/Macalister declared in July 2008.

A detailed description of these regulated water systems is in the declaration documents on the water reform history page.

An entitlement to have water delivered to land in an irrigation area. It gives access to a share of the available capacity in the channel or piped network that supplies water to the property.

Delivery share is defined by a rate of megalitres per day, which establishes how deliveries will be shared if everyone on the channel or piped network wants water on the same day.

Delivery share also includes an annual delivery allowance, which is based on the delivery share in megalitres per day, multiplied by the number of days in the irrigation season.

Delivery share is tied to the land and stays with the property if it is bought or sold. It also stays with the property if the water share is sold separately.

The infrastructure or river system that enables water to get to entitlement holders.

This means an irrigation area, or for a river reach for private diverters, or a catchment or aquifer.

A type of supply by agreement that allows the holder to extract water for use from the water corporation’s drainage system.

When water allocations and use are accounted for over the past year, e.g. from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012.

A right to take/use/extract/have water delivered that may be limited by terms and conditions.

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

The most common types of entitlements are water shares, delivery shares, water-use licences, take and use licences, water allowances, supplies by agreement, works licences and general place of take approvals (including their extraction share).

The most common entitlement types include:
Water shares (in declared/regulated systems), take and use licences, and registration licences. These entitlement types relate to a continuing right to take water.
Delivery shares – a right to have water delivered.
Water-use licences – a right to use water on land.
Works licences – a right to construct, operate or modify water extraction works, like a pump.
General place of take approvals – a right to take water from an approved place (service point). For river diverters, this approval includes extraction share (notional rationing rate), which is a right to take a share of water during periods when river restrictions are in effect. During periods of normal river flow, the extraction share does not constrain the holder’s right to take water.

You can now buy and sell water entitlements separately from land in most of the big regulated water systems.

A right to water granted to the Victorian Environmental Water Holder to maintain an environmental water reserve or improve the environmental values and health of the water ecosystems and other users depending on the condition of the environment.

The Water (Resource Management) Act 2005 amended the Water Act 1989 and created the legal foundation for water to be set aside to maintain environmental values of rivers and streams.

The Minister for Water issues environmental entitlements under the Act so that water can be managed to meet needs like fish spawning triggers or maintaining critical habitats during drought.

A small percentage of unused water is deducted from an allocation account before water is carried over from one season to the next.

This represents evaporation that occurs when water is kept in storage for a longer time.

Typically, evaporation write-off is 5% in northern Victorian systems.

An approval that allows the holder to use their water share or water allocation outside of Victoria.

Better referred to as a works licence, or a works operation licence.

Extraction share is the common term used to refer to ‘notional rationing rate’ as defined in section 3(1) of the Water Act 1989. It is a share of the total amount of water that can be drawn from regulated rivers at an approved place over a given period of time when river restrictions are in effect.

Extraction shares are used to restrict water extraction in times of high demand. During periods of normal river flow, the extraction share does not constrain the holder’s right to take water.

The extraction share is expressed as a rate in megalitres per day on a person’s general place of take approval.

An on-farm water storage managed by the landowner or occupier.

A fee that does not vary with the amount of water used or available to an entitlement holder. See also variable charges.

A general place of take approval authorises an allocation account holder to take water from the identified approved place (at the service point), subject to any terms and conditions on the general place of take approval.

For river diverters, the general place of take approval includes the holder’s extraction share (notional rationing rate).

A groundwater basin is made up of one or more groundwater catchments within a geological basin. The basin may extend offshore or across state boundaries. In some cases a basin may be broken into one or more sub-basins to reflect administrative management boundaries.

A groundwater catchment is an area containing a connected groundwater resource(s), bringing together the input (recharge) areas, use (demand) areas and discharge areas.

An area where groundwater has been intensively developed or has the potential to be developed. It has a defined boundary, depth limits and a Permissible Consumptive Volume.