LESS than 10,000 megalitres of water savings have so far been recovered from the first stages of the $2.2 billion northern Victorian irrigation modernisation project.
However, Victoria's largest water authority, Goulburn Murray Water, has been legally obliged to allocate these meagre water savings to its irrigators, rather than storing them for Melbourne's future needs.
The failure to reserve the water for Melbourne is due to delays in ensuring Goulburn Murray Water's bulk entitlement was amended to include a water-savings account.
Water Minister Tim Holding did not respond to The Weekly Times' request for answers on why the delay occurred.
However an advertisement in this week's edition of The Weekly Times shows Mr Holding is only now moving to approve an amendment to GMW's bulk entitlement, despite the modernisation program being initiated almost two years ago.
Without an amendment to its bulk entitlement, GMW is legally obliged to allocate the water recovered from replacing meters, automating and lining channels to irrigators.
Industry sources said the transfer of water had been delayed, in part due to the drawn-out process of gaining agreement on audit rules used to calculate water savings.
The Weekly Times understands these rules are close to being finalised following negotiations between GMW, the Department of Sustainability and Environment and Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project managers.
The audit rules will define the calculation and quantity of water savings delivered by a raft of water savings initiatives, from lining channels to reducing outfalls through channel automation.
The 100-plus page document defining the rules is set to spark vigorous debate among irrigators, many of whom will argue outfalls and other forms of savings are not "real savings".
