Water recovery

In addition to directly allocating water to the environment through the rules in the water sharing plans, a number of water recovery projects are underway aimed at delivering water more efficiently to water users thereby creating water savings which can be used to provide additional environmental water. This includes a package of projects agreed to in principle in July 2008 for funding by the Commonwealth under the Sustaining the Basin program and other national and inter-state initiatives such as the Living Murray, Snowy and Cap and Pipe the Bores Programs.

Purchasing of licences for environmental purposes

Under its Restoring the Balance Program, the Commonwealth has also committed $3.1 billion for the direct purchase of water licences for the environment. On 23 September 2009 the NSW and Commonwealth Governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding on environmental water. This sets a cap on the amount of water that the Commonwealth can purchase from NSW for the environment by 2013. As a result of this agreement, NSW lifted its temporary embargo on environmental licence purchases which had applied since 29 May 2009.

For more information:

• Media release – NSW embargo on water trades lifted
• Memorandum of Understanding – water for the environment (PDF 768 KB)

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the embargo on the sale of licences for environmental purposes been lifted?

Yes. This was only a temporary embargo which was repealed on 25th September 2009. The intent of the embargo was to place a temporary halt on purchases for the environment until NSW Government could be assured that environmental water purchases were to occur equitably across the Murray-Darling Basin. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on water for the environment announced on 24 September 2009 is an agreement between the NSW and Commonwealth Governments on the total amount of water that can be purchased.

How much water can be purchased from NSW by the Commonwealth?

The MOU sets an upper limit of 890 gigalitres of general security entitlement or equivalent on the volume of water that the Commonwealth can purchase from NSW by 2013. This figure includes the 532 GLs the Commonwealth has indicated that it has already purchased to date or will finalise purchasing from its 2008/09 tender program.

How was the upper limit determined?

The Commonwealth has come to an agreement with the Victorian Government that it will purchase up to 460 GLs of Victorian entitlement. The NSW limit is relative to the Victorian limit given:

1. NSW on average takes a higher proportion of water from the Murray-Darling Basin than Victoria
2. Victorian entitlement is predominantly high security while NSW's limit is based on general security entitlement.

Will the water purchased by the Commonwealth offset the impacts of the Basin Plan?

Yes, as stated in the MOU, the water purchased by the Commonwealth will help smooth the transition for irrigators to the lower diversion limits expected under the Basin Plan.

Do I need to re-submit my application to sell water to the Commonwealth?

Yes, if you submitted an application that was affected by the embargo and the NSW Office of Water returned this to you on those grounds, you will need to re-submit the application. Applications that were still with the Office when the embargo was lifted will be considered subject to the usual approval processes.