Melbourne: Water access and use
Water rights, entitlements, allocations, and restrictions
Introduction
This note provides information about the water access rights granted by jurisdictions to the users of the region's water resources and the associated allocation announcements and abstractions.
The 2015 Account acknowledges that the legislative water resource management frameworks relating to Australian water rights vary greatly across jurisdictions, sometimes making comparisons difficult. To facilitate meaningful comparisons between the water accounting reports included in the 2015 Account, the Bureau of Meteorology has developed and applied an accounting concept to classify and report water entitlements within a water asset/water liability framework.
According to that framework, water rights for the Melbourne region for the 2014–15 year have been classified as shown below.
Surface water rights
Surface water rights in the Melbourne region during the 2014–15 year refer to:
- Non-allocated diversion to individual users—67,365 ML
- Allocated diversion to individual users—22,584 ML
- Allocated diversion to the urban water system—850,085 ML.
In the Melbourne region, there are non-allocated and allocated surface water diversions.
Non-allocated-diversions are made under take-and-use licences issued for irrigation, stock and domestic, commercial and industrial, and other purposes. Take-and-use licences specify a maximum entitlement volume but this does not represent a surface water liability.
Allocated diversions are made under an entitlement for individual users and the urban water system.
In the Melbourne region, surface water allocations for individual users represent the volume of water allocated in the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District, Werribee River, and Werribee Irrigation District. Surface water right for allocated diversion to individual users (22,584 ML) is not a bulk entitlement held by Southern Rural Water. The number represents high-reliability water shares, low-reliability water shares and entitlements for supply by agreement.
Surface water right for allocated diversion to the urban water system (850,085 ML) represents the total volume of various bulk entitlements held by water authorities for urban supply. The volume:
- includes 150,000 ML entitlements from the Victorian Desalination Plant
- includes entitlements for the Thomson River and Silver and Wallaby Creeks sources ( within Greater Yarra System–Thomson River Pool entitlements)
- includes 75,000 ML entitlements for water in the Goulburn and Murray System
- excludes bulk entitlements held by external water authorities (22,825 ML) for water within the Melbourne region.
Water from respective external sources reaches the surface water storages before being delivered to the urban water system.
Allocation announcements for the urban water system represent the volume of water effectively allocated under respective bulk entitlements held by Melbourne's retail water authorities.
The volume of surface water entitlements, corresponding water allocations, and volumes of diversions for the 2014–15 year compared with the previous year are shown in Figure N29. The percentage shows the ratio of diversion to the water access entitlement. Due to the inclusion of entitlements from the Victorian Desalination Plant in Figure N29, the percentage for the urban water system is lower than that published in the 2014 Account.
Note that water allocations and diversions related to the urban water system appear in the 'Water resources and systems' note; however, they do not appear in the water accounting statements because they are transactions that occurred within the region. These transactions did not impact the region's total water assets and water liabilities.
Figure N29 Surface water access entitlements, allocations and diversions in the Melbourne region for the years ending 30 June 2015 and 2014
Entitlements outside the region and the volume of water diverted under them are included in the volumes presented in Figure N29.
Figure N29 shows that the allocation announcements and associated diversions for individual users decreased during the 2014–15 year compared to the previous year as a result of decreased water availability.
For the urban water system, allocation decreased during the 2014–15 year from that of the previous year, although more water received from the Thomson Reservoir. This reflects below average inflows to the reservoirs within the region. For water received from external sources including the Thomson Reservoir, actual delivery was treated as the contribution to the allocation. Despite decreased allocations, diversions during the 2014–15 year marginally increased from the previous year.
Figure N29 does not include carryover volumes from the previous year. Carryover volumes from the region sources as well as outside sources (particularly Thomson Reservoir) are an important component of the water availability in the Melbourne region. Therefore, allocations shown in Figure N29 are not a true reflection of actual water availability. Figure N30 shows total water diversions including non-allocated diversions for individual users, and total water availability that include announced allocations and carryover volumes. For non-allocated diversions, the entitlement volume (67,365 ML) was considered as the allocation in Figure N30.
Figure N30 Total surface water availability and total diversion in the Melbourne region for the years ending 30 June 2015 and 2014
Figure N30 shows that the ratio between diversion and availability for individual users decreased for the third year in row. For the urban water system, the ratio remained unchanged for the past four years.
Groundwater rights
The total volume of groundwater access entitlement for allocated extractions was 62,234 ML for the 2014–15 year. In the Melbourne region, groundwater is mainly extracted by individual users. Extractions for urban purposes are very small. Groundwater allocations in the region were equal to 100% of the water access entitlement during the 2014–15 year as restrictions were not announced.
The volume of groundwater allocation and extraction for the 2014–15 year compared with the previous year are shown in Figure N31. The percentage shows the ratio of extraction to the allocation announcement.
Note that water allocations and abstractions related to the urban water system appear in the Water resources and systems note; however, they do not appear in the water accounting statements because they are transactions that occurred within the region. These transactions did not impact the region's total water assets and water liabilities.
Figure N31 Groundwater access entitlements, allocations and extractions in the Melbourne region for the years ending 30 June 2015 and 2014
Figure N31 shows that the entitlements, allocation announcements, and groundwater extraction for individual users during the 2014–15 year increased from that of the previous year's volumes. This is purely due to the inclusion of volumes from unincorporated areas for the 2014–15 year. Volumes for the unincorporated areas were not available before the 2014–15 year. Actually, the entitlements, allocation announcements, and groundwater extraction for groundwater management areas and water supply protection areas remain relatively unchanged for the 2014–15 year from that of the previous year's volumes. It is also important to note that volumes for stock and domestic uses in unincorporated areas for the 2014–15 year is not included in Figure N31 due to lack of data.
Water access restrictions
During the 2014–15 year, bans applied at times to diversions from many unregulated streams within the Melbourne region. These were categorised as restrictions (pumping times or days restricted, in accordance with drought response plan) or irrigation ban. For more information on these restrictions, please refer to the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning monthly water reports.
Announced allocations restrict water use (primarily irrigation) in the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District, Werribee River, and Werribee Irrigation District. During the 2014–15 year, high-reliability and low-reliability entitlement holders received allocations of 70% and 0% respectively.
Water market activity
In the Melbourne region, trade of water entitlements is allowed for take-and-use licences and water shares.
Permanent trade and lease or temporary trade of take-and-use licences is only allowed within management units; allocation trade does not occur. Accordingly, surface water trade reported for the Melbourne region during the 2014–15 year includes permanent trade and temporary trade of take-and-use licences within unregulated waterways. Similarly, groundwater trade reported for the Melbourne region during the 2014–15 year includes permanent trade and lease of take-and-use licences within groundwater management units.
In the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District, Werribee River, and Werribee Irrigation District, permanent and allocation trades and lease of high-reliability water shares and low-reliability water shares are allowed. Under the conditions specified by the Victorian Trading Rules for Declared Water Systems, trading of water allocations is permitted in special circumstances only between the Thomson–Macalister system (outside the Melbourne region) to the Werribee system (within the Melbourne region); however, trading of water shares is not permitted between these two systems. Trading of water allocations and water shares between water systems in the Melbourne region and water systems outside of the Melbourne region did not occur during the 2014–15 year.
All values and information were sourced from the Victorian annual water trading report 2014–15.
Table N33 present a summary of surface water and groundwater trade in regulated (water shares) and unregulated (take-and-use licences) systems in the Melbourne region during the 2014–15 year.
| Transaction type | Number of trades | Volume ML |
| Surface water entitlement transactions within region | ||
| high-reliability | 54 | 1,953 |
| low-reliability | 49 | 942 |
| surface water take and use licences in unregulated waterways | 90 | 1,122 |
| Other surface water transactions | ||
| temporary trade of surface water take-and-use licences in unregulated waterways | 61 | 1,157 |
| lease of surface water entitlement within region: high-reliability water shares and low-reliability water shares | 18 | 439 |
| surface water allocation trades within region: high-reliability water shares and low-reliability water shares | 130 | 3,229 |
| Other groundwater transactions | ||
| groundwater entitlement transactions within region | 29 | 600 |
| lease of groundwater entitlements within region | 25 | 802 |
Water use
Economic, social and cultural benefit
Surface water and groundwater resources within the Melbourne region are used for urban water supply and irrigation scheme supply as well as for private water supply for purposes such as agriculture and industry.
Economic benefits
For a summary of the water volumes allocated for various economic purposes within the region including the actual volumes abstracted, refer to Surface water rights and Groundwater rights above.
Social benefits
Some of the strategies for managing water for social benefit in the region are addressed through Water saving permanent rules, saving water through incentives and rebate schemes, and actions to increase urban water recycling and alternative water supplies which emphasises increase of stormwater and urban water recycling projects. Stock and domestic licences for surface water and groundwater basic rights allow the right-holders to abstract water to meet basic requirements for household and stock purposes. Urban water entitlements associated with surface water and groundwater allow water utilities to provide water for residential needs.
Cultural benefits
Under the Victorian Water Act 1989 (the Water Act) traditional owner group entities have the right to take and use water for a range of needs without holding a water access licence. This includes accessing water for personal, domestic, and non-commercial communal purposes such as the manufacture of traditional artefacts, hunting, fishing and gathering, recreation, cultural purposes, and ceremonial purposes. In general, water regimes required to support cultural values are not quantitatively defined in allocation plans; however, the cultural values are considered within the environmental water provisions.
Environmental benefit
Introduction
Information on legislative, administrative and governing arrangements of environmental water in the region is available in the Environmental water management section of the 'Contextual information'.
Water for environmental benefit in the Melbourne region is provided according to three different environmental water management scenarios:
- held environmental water
- planned, partly regulated surface water
- planned, unregulated surface water.
For each type of environmental water management scenario, the information, if available, is structured as follows:
- Environmental water determinations: the environmental objectives that define specific water levels and flow criteria at key representative sites that must be met.
- Environmental water commitments: the instruments in place to achieve the environmental water determination, for example, environmental water storage release rules, water access rules to limit abstractions, rules on diversion to wetlands, and annual environmental watering plans.
- Environmental water outcomes: the water levels and flow conditions that occurred during the year and the extent of the compliance with respect to the criteria set in the environmental water commitments.
Environmental entitlements: held environmental water
Environmental water determination
During the 2014–15 year three environmental water entitlements, held by the Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH), applied to catchments within the Melbourne region:
- Tarago and Bunyip Rivers Environmental Entitlement 2009
- Consolidated Yarra Environmental Entitlement 2006 (revised in July 2014)
- Werribee River Environmental Entitlement 2011.
Each environmental water entitlement prescribes that an environmental flow regime must be adopted that describes the characteristics of recommended environmental flows for river reaches within the basin including their volume, timing, duration, and rate of change. These details can be found in Schedule 1 of each entitlement.
Environmental water commitment
The VEWH is entitled to:
- a 10.3% share of net inflows up to 3,000 ML of storage capacity in the Tarago Reservoir under the Tarago and Bunyip Rivers Environmental Entitlement 2009
- the first 17,000 ML of net inflow into the Yarra headworks system for each year, and 17,000 ML of storage capacity in the Melbourne headworks system reservoirs not being used by the authorities under the Consolidated Yarra Environmental Entitlement 2006_July 2014
- a 10% share of inflows into Lake Merrimu under the Werribee River Environmental Entitlement.
Environmental water delivered
The VEWH is required to report the annual volume of water released for the environment, the extent to which environmental flows have met the recommended environmental flow regime, and non-compliance with conditions of the entitlement. Melbourne Water manages environmental bulk entitlements to water from the Tarago, Werribee, and Yarra rivers. During the 2014–15 reporting year, Melbourne Water delivered 11 separate environmental flows in the Werribee, Tarago, and Yarra rivers, delivering about 32,000 ML of water to improve river health and meet ecological objectives. As reported in Victorian Environmental Water Holder (2015) and Melbourne Water annual report 2014-15, the following releases were made in these three rivers:
- In the Yarra River, three environmental watering actions were completed, 29,251 ML of water was delivered with the purpose of increasing the amount of habitat for aquatic species and triggering spawning of native fish species such as the Australian Grayling and Macquarie Perch.
- In the Tarago River, three environmental watering actions were completed, 1,842 ML of water was delivered to help Australian Grayling migrate through the river as part of its life cycle.
- In the Werribee River system, five environmental watering actions were completed, 714 ML of water was delivered to improve frog and macroinvertebrate habitat, flush a blue-green algae bloom from the lower reaches of the river and allow fish movement through a new fish way constructed in the lower reaches.
Bulk entitlements: planned partly regulated surface water
Environmental water determination and commitments
Bulk entitlements that are categorised as 'planned partly regulated surface water' are those where there is the provision to make operational releases from storages to provide minimum passing flows.
In the Melbourne region, this includes the following bulk entitlements:
- Southern Rural Water's bulk entitlement to the Maribyrnong River
- Western Water's bulk entitlement to the Maribyrnong River
- Melbourne Water's bulk entitlement to the Maribyrnong River and Bunyip and Tarago rivers.
Bulk entitlements outline the rules that must be followed when taking or abstracting water, including minimum passing flows that must be maintained at certain compliance points. In these entitlements, water may be released from storage to maintain minimum flows.
For information on specific release and passing flow requirements for each of these entitlements, refer to the Victorian Water Register.
Environmental water delivered
The bulk entitlement holder or responsible authority must submit to the Victorian Minister for Water a report detailing their compliance with the conditions of the entitlement (in particular the passing flows) during the year. This information is also typically contained in the responsible authority's annual report as a measure of compliance with all provisions of the bulk entitlement.
Bulk entitlements: planned unregulated surface water
Environmental water determination and commitments
Bulk entitlements that are categorised as planned unregulated surface water are those where abstraction is only permitted when minimum passing flow conditions are met.
In the Melbourne region, this includes:
- Southern Rural Water's bulk entitlement to the Werribee system for irrigation
- Melbourne Water's bulk entitlement to the Yarra River
- Western Water's bulk entitlements to various sources in the Maribyrnong catchment (Gisborne–Baringo Creek, Lancefield, Macedon and Mount Macedon, Riddells Creek, and Romsey), and to the Werribee system.
Bulk entitlements outline the rules that must be followed when abstracting water, including minimum passing flows that must be maintained at certain compliance points. In addition, environmental flow requirements for the bulk entitlements to water from the Yarra River are detailed in the State Environment Protection Policy.
Environmental water delivered
The bulk entitlement holder or responsible authority must submit to the Victorian Minister for Water a report detailing their compliance with the conditions of the entitlement (in particular, the passing flows) during the year. This information is also typically contained in the responsible authority's annual report as a measure of compliance with all provisions of the bulk entitlement.
Stream flow management plans: planned unregulated surface water
Environmental water determination and commitment
Stream flow management plans (SFMP), local management rules, and drought response plans prescribe how water will be shared between users and the environment in an equitable manner (see Environmental water provisions for more details).
Environmental water outcomes
In accordance with Section 32C of the Water Act, Melbourne Water (which is responsible for administering and enforcing the SFMP) must submit to the Victorian Minister for Water a report detailing its compliance with the SFMP during the 2014–15 year.
Compliance with maintaining environmental flows was reported for all SFMPs in the 2014–15 year.
For more information, these reports can be found on the Melbourne Water website.