THE Victorian Government has refused to cover the $2 million cost of pumping the Waranga Basin, leaving irrigators to foot the bill.
The Government covered the cost of pumping Waranga in 2002-03, 2006-07 and last season.
But this season the Government has told Goulburn Murray Water irrigators would have to cover the cost of pumping the basin's dead storage.
GMW is preparing a final pricing proposal that will require irrigators to pay an extra $2 on every megalitre of high reliability water shares they own.
About 7 per cent of the current 18 per cent Goulburn allocation is derived from pumping the basin's dead storage.
Victorian Farmers Federation water group chair Richard Anderson said it was "a bit disappointing they (the Government) couldn't set some money aside".
"But you've got to remember we're investing $2 million to get about 70,000 megalitres out of Waranga, which is worth about $28 million (temporary water is currently trading at $400 a megalitre).
"If we're going to have to do this every year then GMW is going to have to factor this cost into its future pricing."
GMW management will brief irrigators in the Water Service Committee leadership group this Friday on how the final pricing proposal will work.
