If you wish to participate in water auction and sales within in the Macalister Irrigation District visit our trading platform.
Water sales
From time to time, SRW is able to offer additional water for sale from its storages or through groundwater and surface water opportunities.
Opportunities to acquire new water entitlements
SRW is able to offer additional water for sale through two main sources:
- SRW is achieving water savings from the modernisation of its districts. Some of these savings are made available to customers as either temporary allocations or permanent water shares.
- New groundwater or surface water entitlements are available where the current licensed volume is lower than the specified limit.
The preferred government policy is to release this water via a sales process, to ensure equity. In the case of new groundwater and surface water entitlements, the sale process is usually preceded by an application process to determine the level of demand.
The water is typically sold via an auction, although sometimes water is placed ‘on-the-shelf (i.e. customers can apply for it at a predetermined fixed rate or ‘reserve’ price). Water not sold at auction is typically placed ‘on-the-shelf.’
The following principles guide the sales process:
- Maximise availability: we will make water available as soon as possible, having regard to ease of provision and market conditions. This may involve a series of permanent (share) sales and temporary (allocation) sales in order to put the water into production.
- Maximise the uptake: we seek to maximise the uptake by promoting sales and encouraging customer participation.
- Fair market price: water will be sold at a fair price, having regard to the costs associated in making the water available (e.g. cost associated with resource appraisals, validations and the sales process) and prevailing market conditions.
- Fair and open process: we seek to sell the majority of the water via an open and competitive process (e.g. auction or tender), albeit with the ability to reserve some water for ‘off the shelf sales’.
Each year SRW publishes an annual water sales plan.
The volume of water offered varies from year to year and is dependent on a range of factors, including the volume of savings achieved through modernisation, the results of resources assessments and the outcomes of sales from the preceding year.
Irrigation Districts
| Future planning | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source | Potential pool (water savings ML) | Notes* |
2024-25 Volume (ML) |
2025-26 | 2026-27 |
| Volume of high reliability (ML) | |||||
| Macalister Irrigation District | 21,000 | Future sales pool from balance of phase 1A (2,878ML), estimated phase 1B (10,000ML) and phase 2 (8,000ML). Changes to Victorian Government policy on unallocated water could affect the sales pool. This forecast is consistent with our Price Submission of annual sales of 1,000ML in the MID. Demand assessments from existing customers will also inform potential for expansion into other areas (Southern Victoria irrigation Development investigation for the Avon area). | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Werribee Irrigation District | 5,600 | No permanent water shares will be sold due to the Werribee Reconfiguration Project, which is exploring opportunities for customers to transition to recycled water. Seasonal allocation from the shares will be available while the transition occurs. | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District | 1,200 | Contingent on DEECA’s completion of savings audit and Minister’s approval during 2023-24. Up to 1,200 ML available but split 50:50 with the Victorian Government. There were no sales factored in the BMID as part of our Price Submission. | Nil | ||
*The volumes in the tables for the irrigation districts are gross volumes of water savings. The net volume may vary subject to audits and mitigation water requirements. High and low reliability water shares are issued from the water savings at the Minister’s discretion.
The timing of sales is not definite as they are contingent on the Minister’s approval and any conditions e.g. requirements to consult with customers and stakeholders such as traditional owners, and DEECA’s resources to process water savings approvals.
Groundwater and surface water
Higher priority sales
| Source | Potential pool (ML) | Notes* |
2024-25 Volume (ML) |
Future planning 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boneo (LT aquifer) | 800 | Application pending. This sale is complex due to VCAT decisions, pending release of Geothermal licensing guidelines by the Minister, changes to the permissible consumptive volume order, and pending policy outcomes of returned water guidelines. | 800 | |
| Paaratte | 1,447 | Application submitted | 1,447 | |
| Corinella | 1,888 | Application submitted | 1,888 | |
| Frankston (UT aquifer) | 994 | Application pending. | 994 | Demand assessment |
| Bass River | 300 | Application pending. | 300 | |
| Franklin River | 300 | Application pending. | 300 | |
| Albert River | 300 | Application pending. | 300 | |
| Powlett River | 500 | Application pending. | 500 | |
| Surrey River | 500 | Application pending. | 500 | |
| Shaw/Eumeralla Rivers | 500 | Application pending. | 500 | |
| Small coastal catchments of the Portland Coast Basin | 1,800 | 300ML in each of the six small coastal catchments between the Eumeralla River and Darlots Creek, and around Portland and Cape Bridgewater. Applications pending. | 1,800 | |
| Gellibrand River | 1,000 | Application pending | 1,000 |
*All require demand assessments and traditional owner assessments before proceeding
Lower priority sales
There are several rivers with small volumes available. The intention is to treat these as secondary areas with demand investigations to be progressively undertaken from 2024 to 2025. In the interim, any applications will be treated on their merits.
| Source | ML |
|---|---|
| Eumerall to Darlots | 1,800 |
| Johanna, Milanesia & Brown Ck | 300 |
| Aire River | 300 |
| Parker to Skenes River | 300 |
| Tambryn to Aireys Inlet | 90 |
| Lake Colac | 2,852 |
| Hopkins Basin coast | 680 |
| Curdies River and the Port Campbell area | 50 |
| Merri River | 80 |
| Two coastal areas of the Hopkins Basin (Buckley Creek, Nullawarre, and South of Tower Hill Lake) | 680 |
| Ten Mile Ck | 300 |
| Dividing Ck | 300 |
| Nine Mile & Shady Ck | 300 |
| Other catchments where water is still available under the SDL | 500 |
| South Gippsland Basin Coast | 501 |
| Genoa River | 500 |
| Cann River | 500 |
| Other East Gippsland catchments | 500 |
Private trades
If you need more water, or have spare water, you can seek to buy and sell (or trade, lease or temporarily transfer) water from other SRW customers in your irrigation district, system or zone.
Previous auction results
Water auctions are becoming more common across Southern Rural Water and can be a good way to gain access to extra water either for production or security.
See below for previous water auction results
Please refer to Water trading for more details.