A NEW ‘place of take approvals’ framework will be introduced to strengthen water delivery rights in declared water systems in Victoria.

The framework is due to come into effect during 2023/24 following planned consultation and communications activities.

To help irrigators and service providers better understand these changes, a free lunchtime webinar is being held on Wednesday, July 12 from 1-2 pm.

The new framework will be consistent across all declared water systems and will protect irrigators’ existing rights to have water delivered during the rare event of a water shortfall.

Irrigators will also have more flexibility to manage their own delivery risk.

The changes are driven by increasing delivery risk in the Murray downstream of Barmah.

Agriculture Victoria technical specialist, Rob O’Connor, said the webinar will cover what the ‘place of take approvals framework’ changes are, the drivers for the change, and what the changes mean for water users - including private diverters and irrigation district customers.

“Proposed rules including the cap and trade of water delivery rights will be discussed, along with the broader program of work to manage delivery risk in the Murray system,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Expert speakers will include Penny Clark, senior manager Water Reform Legislation Oversight, and Alex Murray, acting manager Declared Systems Reform.

“Penny and Alex are both from the Water Markets and Grid branch at Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), which over-sees the place of take approval framework.”

To register for the webinar, go to bit.ly/AgVicWMW16. After registering, save the confirmation email containing important information about joining the webinar, including a password.

More information about ‘place of take approvals’ can be found on the Victorian Water Register website.

These webinars are brought to you by the Sustainable Irrigation Program, a partnership between DEECA, catchment management authorities, rural water corporations, and irrigators.