Portfolio Management Statement for the Northern Victorian Rivers 2012-13

Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
September 2012

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Portfolio Management Statement for the Northern Victorian Rivers 2012-13 (PDF - 513KB)

The following portfolio management statement is intended to provide guidance on the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office's potential approach to portfolio management in the Northern Victorian Rivers in 2012-13. The Northern Victorian Rivers are defined in this statement as the Goulburn, Campaspe, Loddon, Broken and Ovens catchments.

This statement will be updated during the year as the approach to portfolio management is adjusted in response to actual seasonal conditions. The next routine update is anticipated in November 2012, however further updates may be released in response to a significant change in circumstances.

Goulburn-Broken catchment

Photo by Simon Banks © CEWO

Date issued: 07 September 2012

Recent Water Availability

Total storage levels within the Southern Connected Basin are currently around 92 per cent and water availability is high.

Commonwealth holdings (as at 1 August 2012)
Entitlement type	Entitlement Held (GL)	Entitlement Held – Long-term Average Annual Yield (GL)	Carryover from 2011-12 (GL)	Water Available (GL)	Forecast Maximum Water Available in 2012-13(GL)¹
Loddon (High Reliability)	2.7	2.6	0	2.4	2.7
Lower Namoi (General Security)	0.5	0.1	0	0	0
Campaspe (High Reliability)	6.4	6.1	0	6.4	6.4
Campaspe (Low Reliability)	0.4	0.2	0	0.1	0.4
Goulburn-Broken (High Reliability)	193.0	183.3	0.1	166.2	189
Goulburn-Broken (Low Reliability)	11.0	3.8	10.1	10.1	10.1
Ovens (High Reliability)	0.1	0.1	0	0.1	0.1
Total – Northern Victorian Rivers	214.1	196.2	10.2	185.3	208.7
Total – Southern Connected Basin ^2, ³	1,000.7	827.7	249.8	944.3	1,030

Note:

¹ Total forecast water available in the Goulburn and Campaspe catchments, and the Southern Connected Basin, does not include allocation in Victorian spillable water accounts.
² Southern Connected Basin includes the following hydrologically connected catchments; Goulburn, Campaspe, Loddon, Broken, SA Murray, VIC Murray, NSW Murray, Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee. Ovens catchment holdings do not form part of the Southern Connected Basin.
³ These figures do not include supplementary water in the Murrumbidgee River which is subject to announcement.

Commonwealth environmental water available in 2012-13

As at 1 August 2012, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office has 183.4 GL of water available in the Northern Victorian Rivers, including 10.3 GL carried over from 2011-12. The total volume that may be available in 2012-13 is estimated at around 209 GL.

In addition to water entitlements held within the Northern Victorian Rivers, the Commonwealth is forecast to have between 771 GL and 821 GL of additional water available from entitlements held elsewhere in the Southern Connected Basin (including in the Victorian Murray catchment). Subject to trading rules and account limits, this additional water may be available in the Northern Victorian Rivers in 2012-13.

These allocations are significantly higher than the longterm average, which means that the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office has, like all other entitlement holders, substantial volumes of water available. Allocation water can be used, traded or carried over to subsequent years depending on the nature of the source entitlement and the legal framework which applies to the management of Commonwealth environmental water.

Water use options in 2012-13

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office has developed water use options for all water available to it in the Southern Connected Basin, subject to seasonal and operational considerations. Available water may be transferred between catchments within the Southern Connected Basin to meet environmental watering needs. At the time of this Statement's issue approximately 264 GL has been used, or approved for use, in the Northern Victorian Rivers in 2012-13.

Further information on environmental water use options is available at Annual Water Use Options 2012-13: Northern Victorian Rivers. Information on water use will be updated on the website as decisions are made.

Trade in 2012-13

The Water Act 2007 provides for the trade of Commonwealth environmental water (allocations and entitlements) and specifies the conditions under which sales may occur. The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office has no current plans for allocation sales in 2012-13 as available allocations are expected to be required to meet environmental needs. The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office has no current plans for allocation purchases.

Trading opportunities are assessed on an ongoing basis, and allocation trade may be considered if catchment and market conditions change. Commonwealth Environmental Water Office will provide further information to the water market prior to undertaking any trading action.

Trade of permanent entitlement is not being considered for 2012-13. Please note that the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office is a separate entity from the Commonwealth Government's Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program and as such the preceding statement does not relate to water entitlement purchasing that may be conducted through that program.

Carryover into 2013-14

As noted above, the volume used for environmental watering in 2012-13 will be subject to seasonal and operational considerations. The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office will monitor water use and will develop a carryover strategy for any allocations that are not likely to be used. Unused allocations will be transferred, subject to trading rules, to accounts that provide the most favourable carryover arrangements. The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office will provide more specific guidance on carryover in subsequent portfolio management statements as the year develops and forecasts can be refined.

Further information about carryover of Commonwealth environmental water in Northern Victoria can be found on Carryover of Commonwealth Water - Northern Victoria - Factsheet

Bar charts shows as at 1 August 2012, the Commonwealth held 11% of the Northern Victorian Rivers irrigation entitlements, measured in terms of long-term average annual yield. The remaining 89% were held by other entities.

Proportion of Northern Victorian Rivers irrigation entitlements held by Commonwealth (by total long-term average annual yield)

Bar charts shows that as at 1 July 2012, this was approximately 0% of the capacity of the Northern Victorian Rivers's major storages.

Carryover of Commonwealth environmental water as a proportion of Northern Victorian's major storage capacity

Cover of Portfolio Management Statement for the Northern Victorian Rivers 2012-13

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