RECENT rain has all but washed away 42,000 irrigators, livestock producers and rural householders' hopes of gaining $56 million in water-rate rebates this season.
The 50-per-cent Victorian government rebate was only available to water users last season if their allocations failed to reach 30 per cent by December 1 .
But this month's surge of rainfall runoff into the state's mainwater storages has already pushed allocations on the Goulburn irrigation system to 30 per cent, with the Murray edging up to 29 per cent.
The Government is yet to announce if the rebate is available again this season. But water users have assumed it would be, given it has been available for the past three seasons. The Government is due to announce its drought assistance measures this month.
Victorian Farmers Federation water council chairman Richard Anderson said both systems were now likely to reach 35 per cent or more by December 1 this year, which would give the Government the excuse it needed not to pay the rebate.
"This is not the year to pull the rebate," Mr Anderson said. "While we welcome the (water) allocations, commodity prices are at their worst. So its tougher this year than it was last year."
More than $45m of the $56m in rebates last season was paid to 28,010 Goulburn and Murray Valley water users from Shepparton to Mildura.
The recovery in storages in other parts of the state and the piping of the Wimmera Mallee stock and domestic system mean the rebate is unlikely to be paid to many water users.
Mr Anderson said the only exceptions were probably the Campaspe, Loddon and Broken and Bullarook systems where the allocations remain at zero for the season.
Southern Rural Water's Werribee and Bacchus Marsh customers are also likely to receive the rebate.
Some irrigators are already contemplating demanding the Government divert the rebate into other forms of assistance if it is cut.
