Victorian water theft penalties fail to deter continued offending
Analysis of Victoria’s water theft laws has revealed a pattern of low penalties and continued illegal take. See the difference between fines and value of stolen water.
As Victoria heads towards a hot, dry summer, an analysis of the state’s water theft laws has revealed a pattern of low penalties and continued illegal take.
In October 2019, Victoria beefed up its maximum penalties for intentionally taking water illegally to $990,000 for companies and $198,000 for individuals.
An analysis by The Weekly Times has revealed these maximum penalties have never been used, with a fine of $40,000 the largest to be handed out since the new laws came in — 4 per cent of the possible fine for a company.
Between July 2019 and June 2022, when the latest data was available, a total of 27,122ML of water was estimated to have been taken illegally from the Murray Darling Basin in Victoria — the equivalent of 10,849 Olympic swimming pools.
Users responsible for the equivalent of about one quarter of the illegal take (6500ML) received penalties in court, and were ordered to pay fines that added up to a total of $121,438, plus $78,579 in combined legal costs.
Unauthorised water take from the Murray River and its tributaries has not slowed since the new laws were imposed. In fact in 2022, the volumes taken without authorisation increased compared to the previous year.
In 2021-22, the volume of water taken without authorisation from the Lower Murray rose sharply to about 5500ML — more than double that of the previous two years combined.
In the Upper Murray and Goulburn systems, 4693ML was taken without authorisation in 2021-22; more than the 4388ML in 2020-21, but less than the 10,191ML in 2019-20.
From 2019 to 2022, the largest volumes of water taken without authorisation in Victoria were in the Upper Murray and Goulburn catchments.
Goulburn Murray Water achieved court-ordered penalties for about 1000ML of illegally taken water between mid-2019 and mid-2022, bringing in $48,000 in fines against 26 offenders — an average of $1850 each.
During this time, 19,272ML was pumped without authorisation, according to GMW estimates.
In the Lower Murray, where all pumps are fitted with telemetry, 7850ML of water was taken without authorisation over the same period.
In the three years from mid-2019 to mid-2022, LMW achieved successful prosecutions for the illegal take of 5526ML, some of which was taken before 2019.
Meters fitted with telemetry instantaneously show water regulators when, where and how much water is being used, and automatically flag overuse.
Regulator struggles to calculate water theft volumes in complex cases
Goulburn Murray Water, which regulates water use in the Upper Murray and Goulburn catchments, has failed on multiple occasions to secure compensation for water taken in complex cases where equipment is broken or tampered with, The Weekly Times has found.
Between 2019 and 2022, Goulburn Murray Water prosecuted five individuals for tampering with water equipment or using a broken water meter, meaning they were able to take water without the volume of water being recorded.
In three cases, Echuca and Shepparton magistrates’ courts heard irrigators had jammed items, including a “fork-like object” and a piece of timber, into the detheridge wheel inside their water pumps, preventing the wheel from turning and recording water usage.
In another case, a length of PVC pipe had been installed through the bank of a water channel and was being used to divert unmetered water into a dam.
In each case, Goulburn Murray Water was unable to determine how much water had been taken. The courts imposed fines ranging from $0 to $2500 but did not award compensation.
Victorian Farmers Federation water council chairman Andrew Leahy said “knowledge of any theft of water in Victoria is only the result of our strong metering program.
“We still have areas in the Northern Basin that are not being metered and that needs much greater scrutiny.”
In NSW cases, the NSW Natural Resources Access Regulator has used satellite mapping and expert testimony to calculate volumes of stolen water, achieving penalties worth tens of thousands of dollars.
In a 2022 case, the NSW Natural Resources Access Regulatorused satellite images to work out that Brewarrina irrigator Tony Thompson had pumped 734ML into a damwhile a meter wasn’t working properly. He was fined $57,500, plus legal costs of $135,000.
In another case, Adelaide University Adjunct Professor of Natural Resource Science Dr Wayne Meyer calculated the volume of water a cotton property would have required to grow its crops over two years. NRAR compared this information with incomplete meter readings to determine grower Henry Payson Pty Ltd had paid for less than half the water used to grow the crop.
Water regulators respond
GMW water delivery services general manager Warren Blyth said in a statement: “The Victorian government and GMW have a zero-tolerance approach to unauthorised take
of water. Unauthorised take means any negative balance at any time and a zero tolerance
approach means any negative balance will be met with enforcement action.
“When GMW identifies an allocation bank account in unauthorised take, we will contact the
account owner and direct them to correct the negative balance. Failure to correct a negative
balance will result in future enforcement action,” Mr Blyth said.
LMW acting general manager of people and stakeholders Kaleb Sexton said in a statement: “LMW use our extensive telemetry and meter network to monitor customer compliance. In instances where unauthorised take is identified, customers are advised by SMS, email or letter and then have, in the vast majority of cases, rectified their negative balance in the specified time frame. Therefore, no further action is taken in these cases unless noncompliance continues.”
Victoria’s five largest water theft cases, by volume of water, since 2019
1. Brownport Almonds pumped 4870ML while account was in negative
In June 2021, Lower Murray Water successfully prosecuted almond company Brownport Almonds for illegally pumping 4870.726ML of water — the equivalent of 1948 Olympic swimming pools — from the Murray River on to its properties at Hattah, near Mildura, while its accounts had a negative balance. The water was worth about $2.6 million, based on market prices at the time.
When Lower Murray Water notified Brownport its account had a negative balance in May 2019, the company paid the bill, then withdrew a further 1456ML while its account was in deficit in October. This balance was also repaid. The company was ordered to pay a total of $27,500 in costs, including $2500 to a Magistrates’ Court fund, a donation of $20,000 to Sunraysia Cancer Resources and $5000 to Mallee District Aboriginal Services’ Wiimpatja Healing Centre.
2. Robinvale water user illegally pumped 461ML
In June 2022, Lower Murray Water successfully prosecuted a Robinvale water user for illegally pumping 461.5ML of water from the Murray River at Robinvale between July 2018 and June 2019. The user paid for the water, and the court ordered them to make two $20,000 donations as a penalty for the offence. No conviction was recorded.
3. Torumbarry water user illegally pumped 202ML
In November 2019, Goulburn Murray Water successfully prosecuted a Torumbarry water user for illegally pumping 202.7ML from the Murray River at Torumbarry between November 15, 2018 and April 16, 2019. No fine was given. The court ordered the water user to pay compensation of $86,147, equivalent to $425 per megalitre of water, plus legal costs of $3238. No conviction was recorded.
4. Shepparton East man illegally pumped 191ML
In May 2021, Goulburn Murray Water successfully prosecuted a Shepparton East man for illegally pumping 191.8ML of water from the Murray Valley Irrigation Area between November 4, 2019 and February 19, 2020. The man was ordered to pay a $1200 fine and $1109 in legal costs. He paid for the water used.
5. Gunbower man illegally pumped 120ML
In November 2020, Goulburn Murray Water successfully prosecuted a man from Gunbower for illegally pumping 120ML of water from the Goulburn system at Torumbarry between November 20, 2018 and May 8, 2019. The man was fined $2000, and ordered to pay $947 in legal costs. He paid for the water used. No conviction was recorded.
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