Primary Industries and Regions South Australia presents an online workshop designed to assist South Australian irrigators to gain confidence in successfully navigating the River Murray water market. This workshop will offer simple and practical strategies to assist irrigators in planning and achieving better outcomes for their businesses.

The workshop will specifically focus on the South Australian water market and be delivered by independent water market experts Marsden Jacob Associates. The workshop will address fundamental concepts, terms and topics, including exploring wider market opportunities for buying and selling across the South Australian, New South Wales and Victorian water markets.

Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2020
Time: 12.30pm – 2.30pm ACST
Location: Online webinar
RSVP: Register to attend the event at
https://zoom.us/…/r…/2615886656322/WN_o53m6cHnRGSdGERARj9alQ or contact Tarsha McGregor, Project Officer by phone on 0428 105 396.

Since August 2019, the Trust Board and its staff have worked to seek a more workable private carryover policy for SA irrigators, and to have that improved policy applied retrospectively.

Private carryover was granted in April 2019 when the opening 2019-20 allocations were less than 50%. Under the policy adopted in February 2019, irrigators who conserved water in 2018-19 for later use lost the full economic value of that water when the 2019-20 allocations reached 100%.
The Trust considered that policy was unsustainable and has a negative economic impact on SA irrigators and their communities.

While improvements to the policy were announced by the Minister on 15 April 2020, the SA Government did not approve that the water conserved by irrigators in 2018-19 could be carried forward. This is extremely disappointing, particularly given the 2% 2020-21 minimum allocation announcement.

We ask the SA Government to clearly explain to our community who has benefitted from the conserved 2018-19 irrigators’ water.

The Trust sincerely thanks the community, including many who reside outside the Renmark irrigation district, who actively demonstrated their support to Government to improve the policy and apply it retrospectively. The Trust’s comprehensive submission to the Government review can be found here.

On 15 April 2020, the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) announced that the minimum projected Class 3 (High Security) and Class 8 opening allocation for the 2020-21 water year is 2 percent.

Despite this very low minimum opening allocation, improvements across the water year are also expected. How quickly and by how much allocations improve depends on future rainfall, where and when it occurs and how much runoff then makes its way into Southern Basin storages. Most inflows to the River Murray System historically occur between July and October, so the main inflow season is yet to arrive.

The full announcement and South Australia’s Water Allocation statement can be found on the DEW website here.

Due to COVID-19 uncertainties, the Annual Shutdown of Trust water supply for maintenance purposes (usually occurring in the first week of May) has been postponed until further notice. Please contact the Trust Office on (08) 8586 6911 with any queries.

You are invited to register for the 2020-21 Irrigation Season Outlook for the River Murray webinar presented by Primary Industries and Regions SA and the Department for Environment and Water, to be held THIS WEDNESDAY 8 APRIL.

The webinar will feature River Murray water resources outlook information presented by the Department for Environment and Water. Respected water market experts Marsden Jacob Associates will present a water market outlook and demonstrate the Commonwealth funded Waterflow™ application, which brings together water market information from a number of industry sources, and also offers a water market university.

There will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions of the presenters during the webinar. The webinar will also be recorded, so if you are unable to attend but would like to watch the webinar later, please register so we can let you know when the recording is available.

Date: Wednesday 8 April 2020
Time: 12.30 pm – 2.30 pm
Location: Online webinar
RSVP: Register to attend the event at https://login.redbackconferencing.com.au/landers/page/cd8df8
or contact Rachael Kelly, Program Manager via email to Rachael.kelly@sa.gov.au or by phone on 08 8429 0368.

To best continue serving the community, the Trust Office is now closed to the public due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) precautionary measures.

As an essential service, the Trust will continue to operate, so please call the Office on (08) 8586 6911 with any queries. Account payments can be made online via EFT, or over the phone. Water related incidents or concerns (i.e. pipe breaks/outages) can be directed to the (08) 8586 6050 number.

Government will soon make a decision on the proposed private carryover policy changes and your support is urgently needed.

If you support the proposed changes to the private carryover policy and applying it retrospectively, please call local MP Tim Whetstone’s office on 8582 4230 this week and voice your support for the proposed policy change AND its retrospective application.

If the proposed policy changes are implemented and it is applied retrospectively, irrigators may gain access to their private carryover water put aside in 2018-19 that was lost due to the current policy when allocations reached 100% in 2019-20.

While our friendly staff love welcoming you at the Trust Office, due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, please reconsider your need to visit the Trust Office in person, unless for urgent business. Instead, please call the office on (08) 8586 6911 with any queries or for assistance in paying any invoices/accounts.

Potential changes to the State Government’s private carryover policy will be finalised before April, but ONLY with the support of Riverland irrigators. The proposed policy out for consultation is an improvement on the current policy and is strongly supported by the Trust who will make a comprehensive submission accordingly. If the proposed changes are implemented, it opens the possibility that irrigators may gain access to their private carryover water put aside in 2018-19 and then lost due to the current policy when allocations reached 100% in 2019-20.

BUT, YOUR input is also needed. Click the following email address and voice your support for the proposed private carryover policy changes: rmwap.feedback@sa.gov.au. You have until 5pm Tuesday 10 March to email this address if making a submission in this way.

Please feel free to copy and paste the following below response paragraphs in your email if you do not wish to draft your own response, but are in support of the potential changes (if wanting to sign a physical register/petition of support rather than submitting a submission electronically, please drop into the Trust Main Office BY 5PM FRIDAY 6 MARCH where one will be available at the front desk):

RE: Support for proposed changes to South Australia’s private carryover policy

The Governments proposed change to the private carryover policy will provide better water security for a series of dry years. It also opens up the possibility of rolling forward the 20GL of water carried over from 2018-19 which was totally lost when 2019-20 allocations reached 100%. Current MDB storage levels indicate that it is becoming unlikely that 2020-21 allocations will reach 100%. Reduced allocations impact the economic and social wellbeing of the whole Riverland community.

The Government’s proposed improvement will assist growers who hold SA Class 3 entitlement to manage reduced allocations by conserving water in one year for the next. It will also assist those who need to lease in water as the private carryover water, including the possible 20GL from 2018-19, will take pressure off of the water market in low allocation years.

I/we strongly support the proposed changes.

Click here to access a statement that provides early advice on the conditions leading into the 2020-21 water year. Information on South Australia’s projected opening minimum water allocation will be provided on 15 April 2020.