Understanding your Irrigation Area
water assets
Irrigation area (channel delivery network)
Dam
Your property
Water shares
Your water shares define
the volume of ‘storage space’
you ‘own’ in the dams and
your seasonal allocation.
Delivery shares
River
Your delivery share is an
entitlement to have water delivered
to your land through the channel or
piped network in an Irrigation Area.
Like any farm asset, you need to understand your water assets to ensure you have the right
mix for your irrigation business today and into the future. Improved seasonal allocations,
modernisation opportunities, future service costs and even the Murray Darling Basin Plan
are all reasons why you may be giving thought to your future irrigation service needs.
As part of the 2007 unbundling of water entitlements, G-MW Irrigation Area customers’ water rights were unbundled to create
water shares, delivery shares and a water use licence. Unbundling has increased the opportunities and flexibility in the ownership,
use and sharing of seasonal allocations and ‘permanent’ water entitlements by allowing water to be owned separate to land. The
following is a reminder for customers in G-MW’s Irrigation Areas and some aspects for them to consider in their farm planning.
Water shares
Your water shares define the volume of ‘storage
space’ you ‘own’ in the dams and storages that
service your regulated river system. Importantly,
water shares define your share of the water
resources in the regulated river system, and
your share is expressed as a seasonal allocation. Each allocation
announcement involves dividing the amount of water available for
a high or low reliability allocation by the volume of high or low
water shares in that system and is expressed as a percentage.
Water shares and your G-MW Account
Water shares are the basis for sharing the costs of operating and
maintaining a systems water storages (dams, weirs and lakes) across
all entitlement holders. The more megalitres of storage space
(water share) you own, the more you contribute to the operations,
maintenance and renewal of the dams and storages in your system.
Delivery shares
Your delivery share is an entitlement to have
water delivered to your land through the channel
or piped network in an Irrigation Area. With
unbundling, your delivery share rate was calculated
as 1 ML a day for every 100 ML of water right
and domestic and stock allowance you owned. But your delivery
share actually allows you to have at least the equivalent of your
delivery share delivered every day of the 270-day irrigation season.
For example if you have a 5 ML/day delivery share you can have at
least 1,350 ML (5x270) delivered during the season - deliveries
above this volume will incur casual use fees.
Delivery shares and customer service
You may require a constant flow rate during the season or you may
be one of the many customers who require increased flows over
much shorter periods. By placing orders and scheduling deliveries,
customers are able to access these higher flows as and when they
need. But some customers own large volumes of delivery share to
ensure they can access large flow rates at certain times of the season.
Delivery shares and rationing
Delivery shares regulate access to the channel network during periods
of rationing. For example autumn can see demand across a few weeks
that exceeds the physical capacity of some sections of channel.
Delivery shares are the basis for equitably sharing the available
capacity among customers during the rationing period, for example if
you owned a 3 ML a day delivery share your deliveries may be limited
to 30 ML across a 10 day period even though normally you may have
wanted to have much more than this delivered.
If you have similar enterprises with similar on-farm practices serviced
by your channel, there is more chance that you will have similar timing
of demand which may impact on deliveries. With the shift to spring
and autumn irrigation peaks this may become a more frequent factor
in your irrigation planning.
Do you own enough delivery shares?
Delivery share owners enjoy a more secure delivery service because
they have priority over use of the network – and the more delivery
share you own, the more water you can have delivered particularly
during rationing. Casual network users can have water delivered to
their property via the channel network but bear the risk of not having
their water delivered or having their delivery limited to the actual
delivery share (ML a day) – especially if rationing is required.
For further information and advice
There is no ‘right’ mix of water shares and delivery shares for every business. Talk with your Farm Irrigation Assessor
or professional farm adviser to discuss the right mix of assets for your farm business – today and into the future.
Water Use Licence
A water-use licence allows you to use water for
irrigation and defines how much water you can
apply to a specific parcel or parcels of land.
Importantly, casual network users include customers with deliveries in
excess of their annual delivery allowance (270 days x delivery share).
Delivery share and your G-MW Account
Delivery shares are the basis for sharing many of the costs of
operating and maintaining the channel delivery network across
all landowners in an Irrigation Area. The fixed costs are charged
to irrigators on the basis of delivery share, number of service
points and a service fee – not use. This means the more delivery
share you own, the more you contribute to the cost of operating,
maintaining and renewing the delivery network whether or not you
have water delivered. The variable costs are shared on the basis of
actual deliveries - your actual use of the network.
Individuals who do not own delivery shares can have water delivered
to their property via the delivery network but they will pay the higher
casual user charges. If you have more than your annual delivery
allowance (270 days x delivery share) delivered to your property you
will pay casual user charges for this additional volume.
Increasing or reducing your delivery share
You can increase or reduce your delivery share by transferring delivery
share to another customer within the same delivery system. You can
also apply to G-MW to increase or decrease your delivery share or
to re-apportion delivery share between the service points on your
property. G-MW can issue delivery shares if there is spare capacity
in the network, and this benefits all customers in the Irrigation Area
by increasing the base over which the costs of operating, maintaining
and renewing the network are recovered. However your account will
increase as you will pay the ongoing costs for your extra delivery share
through your annual G-MW delivery charges.
You can terminate delivery shares if you decide you no longer need
access to the channel delivery network. Because terminating delivery
shares reduces the base for sharing costs, a termination fee applies.
The termination fee is regulated by the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) and is usually equivalent to 10 times
G-MW’s annual Infrastructure Access Fee.
Goulburn-Murray Water
www.g-mwater.com.au
Ph: 1800 013 357
NVIRP
www.nvirp.com.au
Ph: 1300 163 006
• T
o explore your opportunities to transfer delivery shares,
its worth talking with your professional adviser.
• If the entire delivery share for a property is terminated, G-MW is
no longer required to maintain a delivery service to the property.
• The termination fee can be reduced or waived if the reduction in
future costs is greater than the impact on the Area’s revenue.
For example if the termination enables a section of channels to
be rationalised. Contact NVIRP to discuss possible opportunities.
Delivery shares and modernisation
Through NVIRP you may have opportunity to redesign your on-farm
irrigation delivery. Your current delivery share and how it’s distributed
across existing supply points is a factor in this redesign and will inform
the size and functionality of any new meters.
Delivery shares and water savings
The water savings achieved through NVIRP will be distributed to
GMID irrigators as secure tradeable water shares at the completion
of the project. Delivery shares are expected to be the basis for
distributing these water savings.
Water Use Licence
A Water Use Licence allows you to use water for
irrigation and defines how much water you can apply
to a specific parcel or parcels of land. A Water Use
Registration allows you to use water for purposes
other than irrigation. Licences and Registrations are
attached to a specific parcel or parcels of land, and stay with the land if
the land is sold, unless part of the property is sold separately.
Your drainage services – on-farm as well as your access to the drainage
network – are the key factor determining how much water you can apply
to your land. The volume you can apply is called your Annual Use Limit.
If you have improved your on-farm drainage, you may be able to apply
to increase your Annual Use Limit.