Temporary restriction interstate water trades into NSW Murray, Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee regulated water sources

Temporary restriction notice	Access Licence Dealing Principles (Interstate Assignments Extension) Order 2022
Licences affected	Water access licence holders in NSW Murray, Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee regulated river water sources
Date restriction started	1 January 2023
Date restriction ends	31 March 2023
Status	Expired

Reason for Decision

Access Licence Dealing Principles (Interstate Assignments Extension)
Order 2022

Background

Persistent wet conditions and high inflows experienced in 2022 have resulted in near full storages within the NSW Murray, Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee regulated rivers water sources.

While recent conditions have been drier, the latest Bureau of Meteorology forecast continues to favour above-average rainfall. There is a very high chance that internal and/or effective spills from Hume and/or Dartmouth Dam may occur in this timeframe.

Should NSW continue to accept allocation trades from interstate into the NSW Murray, Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee regulated rivers water sources while there is a risk of spill, NSW entitlement holders in these water sources may be impacted. The water transferred from other states to match the trades is likely to spill leaving NSW with trade water to deliver without the matching resource, thus reducing currently allocated water.

Future allocations may also be eroded if trade volumes from interstate continue to accrue under these circumstances, as undelivered trade water will stop additional water being captured and allocated to NSW water users.

Trade from interstate into the NSW Murray, Lower Darling and Murrumbidgee regulated rivers water sources is therefore restricted until the risk of spill has significantly reduced.