Water trading strategy 2019-20

The Victorian Environmental Water Holder has released a new trade strategy to transparently outline where we plan to buy or sell water for the environment across Victoria in 2019-20.

The VEWH's water trading strategy 2019-20 provides a high-level overview of the types of water trading activities that VEWH may undertake across Victoria in 2019-20.

Water trading allows the VEWH to move water to the systems where it is most needed, and to smooth out some of the variability in water availability across systems and across years.

This strategy covers both commercial water allocation trade (selling and purchasing water allocation), and administrative water transfers ('internal' transfers of VEWH allocation or transfers between water holders).

Availability of water for the environment is expected to be low to moderate across the state in 2019-20. Average to wet conditions and associated inflows to storages will be required to increase water availability to moderate to high levels. A dry winter-spring 2019 will likely see low supplies across most of the state. Some catchments will only have enough supply to support critical environmental needs, while trade or transfer options may be required to meet critical environmental needs in other systems.

Opportunities to purchase allocation may be considered in the Maribyrnong system, depending upon assessment of seasonal conditions and environmental need. Opportunities to trade or transfer in the Latrobe, Werribee and Wimmera-Glenelg systems as well as across northern Victoria to increase supply may also be investigated, particularly if dry conditions continue.

The VEWH may consider selling part of its allocation in northern region systems if foreseeable environmental demands can be met. If this occurs, it would most likely be from summer 2019-20 onwards and be more likely following an average to wet winter-spring.

In 2019-20, the VEWH intends to implement a range of administrative transfers to facilitate the delivery of environmental water across Victoria or for carryover purposes, including water held by other environmental water holders. Similarly, administrative transfers will be undertaken to transfer allocation available for use in the Snowy River.

Download a copy of this trade strategy: Water allocation trading strategy 2019-20 - 533kb (PDF)