Owners who hold more than 2% of high reliability water shares in 2021/22

1 - For further information on commonwealth environmental water holdings visit https://www.environment.gov.au/water/cewo/about/water-holdings
2 - For further information on the VEWHs water portfolio visit https://www.vewh.vic.gov.au/watering-program/how-much-water-is-available

Who were the largest owners of water in 2021/22?

This page provides insights to address community interest in water ownership, focusing on high reliability water shares in northern Victoria.

We define large water owners within a system as any business that owns over 2% of the water within that system.

 The Goulburn system 

The Goulburn system includes trading zones:

• 1A Greater Goulburn
  1B Boort
  3 Lower Goulburn

Owners who hold more than 2% of high reliability water shares in the Goulburn system

A visual representation of the ownership of water shares in the Goulburn system

Each water share is represented by a circle. The size of the circle represents the volume of the water share. The colour represents whether the water share is owned by the environment (green), privately (red) or by a water corporation (blue). The named circles represent the water share owners above the 2% threshold. 

The Murray system above the Barmah Choke 

The Murray system above the Barmah Choke includes trading zones:

• 6 Vic Murray – Dartmouth to Barmah

Owners who hold more than 2% of high reliability water shares in the Murray system above the Barmah Choke 

A visual representation of the ownership of water shares in the Murray system above the Barmah Choke

Each water share is represented by a circle. The size of the circle represents the volume of the water share. The colour represents whether the water share is owned by the environment (green), privately (red) or by a water corporation (blue). The named circles represent the water share owners above the 2% threshold. 

The Murray system below the Barmah Choke

 The Murray system below the Barmah Choke includes trading zones:

• 6B Lower Broken Creek
  7 Vic Murray - Barmah to South Australia
  

Owners who hold more than 2% of high reliability water shares in the Murray system below the Barmah Choke

A visual representation of the ownership of water shares in the Murray system below the Barmah Choke

Each water share is represented by a circle. The size of the circle represents the volume of the water share. The colour represents whether the water share is owned by the environment (green), privately (red) or by a water corporation (blue). The named circles represent the water share owners above the 2% threshold. 

Who owns water shares in northern Victoria?

Map of northern Victoria

Owners who hold more than 2% of high reliability water shares in all trading zones in northern Victoria

Pie chart showing the total volume owned by the Environment, Private or Water Authority in northern Victoria

The pie chart below shows the ownership of all high reliability water shares in northern Victoria. The green slice is the volume held by the Commonwealth Government and the Victorian Environmental Water Holder for environmental use. The blue slice represents water corporations, and the red are the private owners.

Most water shares are owned by private owners.

Table showing the total volume owned by the Environment, Private or Water Authority in northern Victoria

Publishing this information

Part 5A of the Water Act 1989 sets out the purpose of the Victorian Water Register, including to make information about water markets publicly available. This information was published in accordance with section 84EA. 

Foreign ownership of water entitlements

Some Victorian water entitlements are foreign owned. The Australian Taxation Office reports on foreign ownership of water.