Environmental and urban water holders gain 43 per cent of allocations
Urban and environmental water holders have gained up 43 per cent of Victoria’s Goulburn-Murray water allocations this season.
UP TO 43.1 per cent of the water allocated against Victorian Goulburn and Murray entitlements this season has gone to the environment and urban water corporations, including those in Melbourne.
Water Ownership tables put together by Northern Victoria’s Resource Manager show that of the 500 gigalitres allocated on the Murray to date, environmental water holders gained 166GL and urban water corporations gained another 23GL, bringing the combined holding to 37.8 per cent.
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On the Goulburn system the combined environmental and urban share rose to 43.1 per cent, with the Victorian and Commonwealth environmental water holders gaining 188GL in 2019-20 allocations, while urban water corporations gained 52GL.
Melbourne’s three urban water corporations equally share in allocations against 75GL of entitlement generated from the Goulburn Murray Connections Project.
One senior government water officer told The Weekly Times the allocations did not mean the environment and urban water corporations held 33 per cent of GMW’s entitlements, but that the VEWH and CEWH had access to other sources of water allocated against the Living Murray, Snowy and other special accounts.
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