This page shows ‘hot links’ that provide valuable and popular information for irrigators and the broader irrigation community in northern Vic, southern NSW and Gippsland

Upcoming irrigation water availability

Nowadays, irrigation water availability and price, is influenced not only by the water allocation in your district, but by water allocations in other key zones in the connected southern Murray Darling Basin.  Irrigation carryover volumes and water trade limits (refer to the “Water trading” section below) also impact on the size of the pool of water available to an irrigator and the associated water price. Other key information related to upcoming water availability including allocation outlooks, recent rainfall and inflow data, and the climate outlook, can help with important farm management planning decisions for the current and upcoming seasons.  

• Goulburn Murray allocations and outlooks
• NSW allocations and outlooks
• Macalister Irrigation District allocation
• Storage inflow graphs for Northern Victoria
• Murray river flow data
• “Rocket diagrams” showing water in store and commitments for each system
• Streamflow forecasts
• Carryover volumes  N Vic.  Carryover volumes  NSW
• Southern Rural Water storage levels
• BoM rainfall map
• Climate outlook. BoM.  Seasonal climate and risk.  AgVic
• MDBA weekly report

Water trading

A farm business may use any mix of water products ie. own permanent, buy temporary, forward contract, lease etc.  During the season and from year to year the water prices vary for permanent and temporary water; and between different districts.  If looking to trade water, it is important to keep an eye on the market and there are different trading rules when transferring between valleys.

• Vic water allocation prices – includes a complete list of water allocation transactions and  prices
• Vic water share prices – includes a complete list of water share transactions and prices
• NSW water prices  
• Southern Rural Water trading and auctions
• Water broker weekly newsletters – H2OX; Ruralco;  Waterfind; Waterpool.
• Barmah choke trade balance
• Goulburn to Murray system trade opportunity
• Goulburn inter-valley trade transfers
• Murrumbidgee inter-valley trade account
• Victorian 2017-18 annual water trading report
• Listing of Australian Water Broker Association accredited water brokers
• Water brokers and exchanges – your fair trading obligations
• District water use – regularly updated.  Goulburn Murray Irrigation District
• Net trade in and out of districts.  Goulburn Murray Irrigation District
• Carryover calculator tool.  N Vic

Water Ownership

For information regarding who owns what water and how shares are split between states see the  links below

• Current water ownership – carryover, new allocations and trade in Victoria
• State share volumes in storages – Vic, NSW and SA

Irrigation System Design and Management

A well designed and constructed irrigation system is crucial for water efficiency.  A poor system can be costly in terms of water use, energy and running costs, time or productivity losses.  An irrigation system should be matched to what is to be grown and the soil types of the farm. See the links below for more information.

• Irrigation system selection and design guidelines.  Surface irrigation, centre pivots and subsurface drip systems
• Irrigation systems
• Whole Farm Planning
• Renewables and irrigation – what works and when?

Irrigation Scheduling

Making the most of your water by properly scheduling your irrigations can increase your productivity and save water.  There are many tools that can be used and no one tool should be used in isolation but rather together to guide you when deciding when to irrigate.

• IrriSAT  Satellite based irrigation scheduling tool
• What to know about Soil Moisture Monitoring
• What is evapotranspiration and how do I use it to schedule irrigations? Fact sheet
• Soil moisture monitoring Factsheet
• Weekly irrigation requirement summaries –  Macalister Irrigation District;  North East Vic;  Northern Vic;  Mallee.

Incentives and support are available for landholders.  There is dry seasonal conditions support available for the current season and a number of other irrigation related incentives available for landholders.

• Plan2Farm.  Free consultation to develop a farm strategy considering irrigation modernisation, water requirements, land requirements and dry seasonal conditions. REGISTER your interest here   
• Vic government dry seasons support
• On-Farm drought infrastructure program
• Agriculture Victoria On-farm Energy Grants
• Whole Farm Plans
• Whole Farm Plan incentives – Goulburn Broken
• Whole Farm Plan incentives – North Central  
• Soil salinity survey  
• Tree and Native Vegetation Advice for North Central Victoria

If you have other favourite irrigation related web sites, please let us know about them using the ‘Contact Us’ tab above so we can consider adding them to this page.