Water update - Late July

Current allocations are as follows:

In addition, various enhancements/member benefits have been announced for Irrigation Authority customers. Please contact your Water Authority for terms, conditions and further details.

Supplementary Events

• Murrumbidgee Regulated River
• NSW Murray and Darling Regulated River

Trade Restrictions

MURRUMBIDGEE/MURRAY IVT
With the Murrumbidgee allocations substantially lower than the NSW Murray, the Department of Planning and Environment – Water (DPE-Water) has made the decision to spill the Murrumbidgee Inter-Valley Trade (IVT) account balance. This will occur on Monday 14 August 2023, and will result in the following balances:

• 100 gigalitres (GL) from the Murrumbidgee into the NSW Murray 
• 0GL from the Murray into the Murrumbidgee 

Until Monday 14 August, the IVT will remain operating as normal. The IVT is currently open in both directions with the capacity for 65 GL of Murrumbidgee to Murray trade and 35 GL of Murray to Murrumbidgee trade. Both markets remain at parity and are expected to remain so until the IVT spill.

BARMAH CHOKE 
Is closed.

INTERSTATE TRADING
On 26 June, the Department of Planning and Environment and Water announced a temporary restriction on interstate water trades into the NSW Murray, Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee regulated river water sources.

These restrictions will commence on 1 July 2023 and extend to 31 August 2023, unless repealed earlier. The order may be repealed earlier if NSW storage levels are reduced enough to create airspace to safely receive traded water. With Upper Murray storages effectively full, this temporary trade restriction is required to mitigate the risk that water traded from Victoria or South Australia to NSW water access licence holders will spill from storage.

Storages

According to the Bureau of Meterorology (BOM), storage levels are currently as follows:

Current Temporary Market

Current Permanent Market 

Seasonal Outlook

The BOM released an updated outlook on 20 July. The full outlook can be viewed by clicking here but, in summary:

• For August to October, below median rainfall is likely to very likely (60 pc to greater 80 pc chance) for most of Australia.
• For August to October, above median maximum temperatures are very likely (greater than 80 pc chance) for almost all of Australia.
• For August to October, minimum temperatures are likely to very likely (60 pc to greater than 80 pc chance) to be above median for almost all of Australia.
• This forecast is influenced by several factors, including likely El Niño development, the potential development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, and record warm oceans globally.

For more information contact your local water broker. 

Meet the author

This update was prepared by Daisy Armstrong. Daisy is a Water Broker based at Elders Griffith. She commenced with Elders in May 2020 although she has been water broking since 2013. 

She grew up on an irrigation property in the New South Wales Riverina and holds a Bachelor of Business from Charles Sturt University. 

Daisy is a member of the Australian Water Brokers Association and specialises in Murrumbidgee, New South Wales Murray and Lachlan trading zones. 

_{The information contained in this article is given for the purpose of providing general information only, and while Elders has exercised reasonable care, skill and diligence in its preparation, many factors (including environmental and seasonal) can impact its accuracy and currency. Accordingly, the information should not be relied upon under any circumstances and Elders assumes no liability for any loss consequently suffered. If you would like to speak to someone for tailored advice relating to any of the matters referred to in this article, please contact Elders.}