Winter Water is changing and we want to update you on how this will affect you and what will happen next.
Winter Water - Current State
Every year CLIS makes up to 5,000ML of water available to irrigators during the off-season, typically April 1 to October 30. This water is commonly referred to as Winter Water.
Unlike In-season Water, Winter Water has traditionally not been subject to water rights, and has been made available on a year-to-year basis with limited need for regulation around the volume taken and by whom.
Whilst CLIS understands this current state offers flexibility for irrigators, recent developments have made it necessary for CLIS to review how Winter Water is made available across the Scheme, including:
CLIS has statutory obligations to operate as a Responsible Water Entity under the Water Management Act and ensure water is made available to all Irrigators in the Cressy/Longford District on a “fair and efficient basis’. Advice has been received that current Winter Water arrangements are not aligned with this act, in particular:
Water not currently the subject of Water Rights must be sold on a General Availability (GA) basis to all current and new Irrigators in the District, and not distributed only to existing water right holders;
Winter Water cannot be tied to existing In-season Water Rights. An example of this would be where irrigators are entitled to Winter Water rights equal to a pro-rata of their In-season Water Rights.
CLIS and Hydro have a contract that clearly states 5,000ML of Winter Water will be made available, with the caveat that this water is supplied with no surety;
Hydro will not consider any additional Winter Water requests over and above the contracted 5,000ML until CLIS can demonstrate that current allocations are exhausted;
Demand for Winter Water is growing as investment in on-farm storage increases across the scheme;
CLIS would like to encourage further investment in on-farm storage capacity as it provides flexibility, acts as a buffer during Hydro shutdowns and assists with management of flow to meet overall demand;
Surety of supply is required if Irrigators are to be encouraged to invest in on-farm storage;
Proposed Winter Water Management Plan
Given these developments CLIS is proposing a new Winter Water Management Plan that will enable it to meet its statutory obligations, efficiently manage water allocation from Hydro, and give Irrigators certainty of supply. The main points to this plan are:
Winter Water will be made available for a term of twenty years via a contract;
It will be made available on a General Availability (GA) basis, which means it will be available to all irrigators in the district, including new irrigators who may not currently hold in-season water rights;
Winter Water will be made available via an application process. Should applications exceed 5,000ML, CLIS will make every effort to engage with Hydro to increase the amount of available Winter Water. However, the outcome of this request cannot be guaranteed;
Winter Water will be allocated based on the following factors:
On-farm storage to store water
Historical Winter Water usage
Overall benefits to the scheme in regards to the delivery of water during the in-season
Demonstrable plans to use
To make an application, Irrigators must have an existing connection to the scheme or fund a connection at their own expense;
Charging Model
Winter Water will be charged at:
50% of the summer water right fee. This will be payable at same time as the in-season water right fees and will be payable from the acceptance of the winter contract (with a pro-rata to apply);
A water usage fee will be as determined by the Board, but will be no greater than that which gives an expected gross margin of 50% of that expected on summer water + the asset renewal levy;
Pricing has been structured to reflect the fact that Winter Water is made available with no guarantee of supply.
A Winter Water contract will not be transferable apart from to a successor owner of the land in respect of which the initial contract was granted.
Application Process
Irrigators are encouraged to apply only for Winter Water they can reasonably use. Applying for additional Winter Water simply to “lock up” access is inconsistent with the principals of self-governance and mutuality of purpose.
The application is to be accompanied by a fee of $42 per ML applied for. This will be applied as follows for each ML allocated:
Towards the annual Winter Water fee for the year of application;
Towards the Winter Water usage fee for the first 2 years;
Any amount of application fees for water contracts accepted by CLIS will not be refunded.
The application process will be overseen by CLIS’ accountants, Newton & Henry to ensure the appropriate probity controls are in place and a fair and equatable outcome for all applicants;
Once the initial process is completed, should additional water be available either at the end of that process or as a result of future allocation, the Board will advise Irrigators on the mechanism for making this available to Irrigators with unmet/emerging needs and in manner which is consistent with its obligations.
Excess In-Season Water
Whilst the CLIS Winter Water Management Plan relates only to Winter Water, CLIS would like to highlight that only 16,598ML of the available 20,000ML of In-season Water Rights are allocated. 3,402ML of In-season Water Rights are therefore retained by CLIS and traditionally sold via a tender process annually for a period of 1 year.
The Board proposes to hold this additional capacity in reserve at least for the next 5 years until it is apparent that this water is not required to balance the needs of Irrigators over the In-season and Off-season periods.
On this basis, an annual assessment will be made by the Board for future years as to the extent and amount of any of surplus water that will be offered through the tender process for annual usage during the In-season period.
The application process for this water will commence prior to the start of the In-season.
What happens when the Winter Water Management Plan is approved
Information Packages will be issued to all landowners in the District that will include an expression of interest document.
A press advertisement will be published in Public Notices, during the week commencing 28th October.
Expressions of interest will close at 5pm on 25th November 2024. Late documents will not be considered.
Water allocations will be made by 30th November 2024 at which time applications will be advised and any refunds issued where applications could not be fulfilled. This time frame may be extended by the Board if, in its reasonable assessment, there remains a strong prospect of the application being fulfilled via negotiation or additional water allocations being obtained.
What happens if the Winter Water Management Plan is not approved
The Winter Water Management Plan was developed to address key legislative, contractual and management challenges impacting CLIS’ ability to responsibly deliver Winter Water.
The environment in which the organisation operates in is only becoming more challenging and complex and these issues will not go away.
Should the Winter Water Management Plan not be approved by members to proceed, CLIS will be forced into a position where Winter Water will become available on General Availability basis.
This means that the 5,000ML will be made available on a first come, first serve basis including Winter Water being made available to those irrigators who are not currently connected to the Scheme.
Who do I speak with if I have questions?
The Information Session to be held at the Cressy Community Centre on Wednesday 18th September is your opportunity to discover more about the Winter Water Management Proposal as well as the opportunity to raise any questions you may have directly with CLIS Directors.
If you have any questions before this Information Session the CLIS Board welcomes emails to be directed to cfrost@newtonhenry.com.au.
