IN RESPONSE to criticisms by Murray and Murrumbidgee valley irrigators the NSW Department of Primary Industries Water has improved the way it delivers information to water-users about inter-valley trades (IVT).
Thousands of growers, including Finley farmer Ian Mason (pictured), missed their chance to buy water on November 19 after the trade limit of 50,000 megalitres was reached within 24 hours. Hundreds of growers were busy harvesting at the time and didn’t know trade had opened, unaware it had been publicised through a media announcement on DPI Water’s website.
At the time Ricegrowers Association of Australia president Jeremy Morton told The Land DPI Water’s communication protocols weren’t fair.
“(The opening of trades) is information the market needs communicated in very clear terms, otherwise the only ones to benefit from trade re-opening are those with intimate knowledge of the system,” he said.
This week DPI Water arranged a suite of changes to ensure irrigators have an equal chance to secure water.
The WaterNSW website has been made the information hub for growers. Daily updates relating to the current account balance and opening or closing triggers will be made here.
While the Department transitions to the new operating procedure interim measures will be in place. When the IVT account balance, as shown on the WaterNSW website, reaches 67 gigalitres (GL), trade will be opened and WaterNSW will begin to accept and approve applications. The website will be updated each day at 9am and trades will be processed until the IVT account upper limit (100GL) is reached, at which point approvals will cease and the website will indicate that trade out of the valley is closed.
Following this transitional arrangement, subsequent opening of trade will occur when the account balance, as shown on the WaterNSW website, reaches 85GL (falling) for trade out, and 15GL (rising) for trade into the valley.
Trades received will be processed in order of receipt, and applications received on the day trade closes, but not able to be processed within the IVT cap, will be maintained for seven calendar days, during which time applications will be sequentially approved if the account balance moves sufficiently into the operational range. Applications will not be accepted after the day of closure.
DPI Water’s Brian Graham said the changes would assist water users to make informed business decisions.
“DPI Water and WaterNSW are working together to deliver a new, clear and consistent set of procedures for Inter-valley Trade (IVT) and to make available updated, timely information regarding the opening and closing balances that allow trade into and out of the valley,” Mr Graham said.
