CICL Update July 2024

Dear Members,

This newsletter provides Members with an update on key water issues affecting CICL and its Members’ businesses.

In this month's newsletter - 

Department of Climate Change Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)

Allocation announcements

15/07/2024

High Security                                       95%

General Security                                    33%

Groundwater                                        100%
(Lower Murrumbidgee)

 

2024-25 CICL announcement and offers

Member benefit                                     10%

Additional water offers                           

 

Water allocation update – NSW – DCCEEW released a water allocation update on Monday 15 July 2024. It is here. The next allocation announcement will be published at 2.30pm on Thursday 1 August.   

Waterways is open for 2024/25 Water Statements, but still closed for water orders.

http://www.colyirr.com.au

T: 1300 850 105

Inter-valley trade (IVT)

Up-to-date information on the IVT is here.

You can register for WaterNSW IVT alerts here.

CICL Board elections

CICL will call for nominations from Monday 19 August 2024 for two member directors due to the retirement by rotation of Peter Sheppard and Anthony Mannes.

Peter, our Chair, has advised he intends to re-nominate. Anthony Mannes has decided not to re-nominate and will end his nine years as a director at the Annual General Meeting in October 2024. CICL thanks Anthony for his service.

The call for nominations closes at 12 noon on Thursday 19 September 2024. 

Member benefit

CICL has announced a member benefit of 10 percent of delivery entitlements at no cost to members.

This offer is for active members who are financial as of Wednesday 31 July 2024.

To be financial, CICL must have received payment for all your 2023/24 invoices, or you must have entered into a payment arrangement to the satisfaction of CICL before Wednesday 31 July 2024. Please contact Paul Clarke via reception T: 02 6954 4003 prior to 31 July 2024, if a payment arrangement is required.

The megalitre amount of the member benefit will be added to Water Statements after 31 July 2024.

2023/24 invoice

All outstanding 2023/24 invoices are due for payment by Wednesday 31 July 2024. Failure to pay (unless payment arrangements have been made) will result in the suspension of water supply and you will not be eligible for the member benefit. Failure to pay or enter into an arrangement by ANY member of an SFU will result in the suspension of water supply to ALL members of the SFU.

When paying your invoice please allow sufficient time for your payment to be received by CICL. We recommend payment is effected by Friday 26 July 2024 to ensure that funds are cleared in time.

CICL Schedule of Charges-ready reckoner

CICL has provided all members with our Schedule of Charges for 2024/25. The Schedule is produced to meet the requirements of the Water Charge Rules 2010 (Cth) and can be found here.

Water charge ready reckoner – CICL has updated the “ready reckoner” to assist customers calculate their 2024/25 charges. The ready reckoner and a guide to using it are available on our website here.

Water Use Limit 2024/2025

Customers are advised the total farm water use (including on-farm bores) should not exceed 8ML/ha for the 2024/25 season unless they have entered into Water Use Agreements with CICL.


Please contact Keith Thompson via reception on T: 02 6954 4003 for further information.

Active Membership

The requirements for active membership of CICL are described in Rule 9.2 of CICL Rules. An abridged summary of the key requirements for active membership is below. The member:

  • Must own or lease a landholding to which water can be delivered by CICL infrastructure.

  • Hold a minimum of 10 delivery entitlements and a minimum of 10 shares.

  • Use or trade or undertake to use or trade a minimum of 10 ML from the member’s water account each year.

  • Pay or undertake to pay in a manner acceptable to CICL the member’s invoices.

Not be in breach of CICL’s water supply rules.

If you require more information, please contact the Company Secretary via reception on T: 02 6954 4003.

Water Operations start of season

To assist with planning the commencement of water delivery for the 2024/25 season, please contact Water Operations to discuss your water order requirements.

At this stage, water will be available for delivery to customers in late August following completion of winter maintenance work.

The timing may be influenced by weather conditions and customer demand, so please keep Water Operations updated with your plans by phoning the office T: 02 6954 4003 or M: 0427 544 269.

Members will be advised when Waterways water ordering can start.  

Crop forms

Before a water order can be placed, members are required to complete a crop form with intended crop areas per farm. Crop areas can be updated at any time throughout the season if your plans change.

The crop form is available here or from reception on T: 02 6954 4003.

The completed crop form can be submitted via email to enquiries@colyirr.com.au or in person at reception.

Winter Works

There was a rapid initial drawdown in channels once the offtake was closed because of water demand. The six main offtake radial gates have been refurbished with zinc metal spray and all their rubber seals have been replaced. We have also been able to remove most of the silt buildup, upstream of the main offtake structure. The draw down of the Gogeldrie weir pool by WaterNSW assisted with this maintenance work. The high river flows over the last five years have prevented CICL’s access to the bed of the inlet channel. CICL appreciated the co-operation of WaterNSW river operators who assisted with management of flow in the Murrumbidgee River which allowed this important work to be completed.

CICL has also completed two channel bank reconstructions and is progressing with de-weeding and silt removal in channels with identified flow issues. Some FlumeGate™ structures have been removed and reseated to repair ongoing yabby leaks and we are continuing with excavator work ahead of the commencement of channel filling.

We also have consultants inspecting bridges and culverts in preparation for our five-year infrastructure asset condition report.

We continue to work with the NSW Fisheries - Narrandera Fish Hatchery manager to provide access to native fish when we are pumping out regulators. These fish are used to support bringing genetic diversity to their breeding stock..

Staff profiles

SHAWN IDDLES - CHANNEL TECHNICIAN

Introducing Shawn Iddles - How long have your worked for CICL and what is your role? I have worked at CICL for six months as a Channel Technician.

What were you doing before you jointed CICL? – I was working as a parts interpreter for Burson Autoparts in Griffith. 

What does your job entail? – I am responsible for repairs and maintenance of the Flumegates™ and regulators. 

What’s a common question you get from customer’s/members and staff? – I am most often asked “how am I travelling in my new job?” 

What is the favourite part of your job? – Working on the Flumegates™.

What do you like to do when you are not working? I am either at home, relaxing or out playing golf or cricket.

What is your favourite entertainment? – I really enjoy watching all forms of cricket.  

EXTERNAL ISSUES

Member Meeting

CICL has invited the NSW Department of Climate Change Energy the Environment and Water (NSW Department) to give a Water Allocation Update at a breakfast meeting starting at 8.30am on Friday 6 September at the Coleambally Club.

We have also invited WaterNSW to attend and provide a demonstration of Water Insights. 

Please “save the date.”

Nimmie Caira Member Tour

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder is available to host CICL members and staff on a field trip to Nimmie Caira and the LowBidgee.

This will be an all-day tour leaving from Coleambally Irrigation early on Wednesday 18 September.

Ricegrowers’ Association offered a similar tour last year and feedback from participants was it was valuable and interesting to see firsthand the results of environmental watering in the LowBidgee.

To express interest in participation please contact reception on T: 02 6954 4003.

Restoring our Rivers – 450GL framework

CICL provided an update on the Commonwealth Government’s Restoring our Rivers - Water Trading Strategy. This update is available on our website here.

Since this update the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change Energy Environment and Water (Commonwealth Department) has opened its tender for the first 70GL in the southern Murray Darling Basin. The tender closes at midnight on Wednesday 11 September. Also updated is the Restoring our Rivers Trading Strategy. CICL water entitlements are not eligible to participate in this tender, but holders of Water Access Licences in the Murrumbidgee are.

The Commonwealth Department is proposing an Expression of Interest in the southern Murray Darling Basin for entitlement holders not included in the current tender. The Expression of Interest will be followed by a proposed new tender in 2025, with the government looking to purchase additional water from the southern Murray Darling Basin in mid-2025.

Resilient Rivers Feasibility Application

CICL, Murrumbidgee Irrigation and Murray Irrigation’s application for feasibility funding under the Resilient Rivers Program is being reviewed and considered by the NSW Department. If approved by NSW, the application goes to the Commonwealth Government for approval.

Improving the health of the Upper Murrumbidgee – Draft Strategy

CICL made a submission to this draft strategy released by the Commonwealth Department in June and can found here.

This strategy refers to the proposed review of the Snowy Water Inquiry Outcomes Implementation Deed, which is an intergovernmental agreement between the Commonwealth, NSW, and Victorian Governments. This review is important because of its potential to lead to changes in the Snowy Water Licence, including the volume released by Snowy Hydro into Blowering Dam versus releases from Tantangra Dam, potentially impacting on reliability of NSW general security water entitlements.

The Commonwealth has also agreed to fund $30M to support additional water releases in drought-like conditions. What this may mean in practice needs to be clearly explained and we are seeking assurances it does not impact on the reliability of general security allocations.

Water Availability Update

The NSW Department’s water allocation update, here,  released on 15 July. The update assumed there is carryover equal to 27 percent of general security entitlements. According to the Department the five percent improvement from 1 July has been from a combination of higher than assumed minimum storage and tributary inflows, reduced losses and a lower carryover liability than previously assumed.

The Department also released indicative general security allocations based on historical inflow data ranging from extreme dry to wet.

Annual water allocation account limits reminders

The water account rules which members need to be aware of are:

  • Carryover is limited to 30 percent of general security water entitlements.

  • Carryover plus the announced allocation cannot exceed 100 percent of general security water entitlements. Member benefit and allocation trade in is in addition to the 100 percent.

  • General security water entitlement holders can access off-allocation water in supplementary events when the announced allocation for general security is less than 70 percent. Any off-allocation usage is included in the account limit of 100 percent unless History of Use (HOU) supplementary water is held.

  • If you have used off-allocation water and an increase to general security announced allocation would cause you to breach the account limit of 100 percent, the off-allocation usage above the account limit is converted to normal (non-supplementary) usage.

  • HOU supplementary water holders can access off-allocation water in supplementary events up to the volume of their HOU. 

  • Supplementary water is not available against high security water entitlement holders or delivery entitlements. 

During a supplementary event, only orders from farms with general security water entitlement will be considered supplementary use.  Orders from those farms with high security water entitlement, G class water entitlement, or delivery entitlement only will be using allocation and must have the water available in their account before ordering.

Reminder - Trade Records

The Water Amendment (Resilient Rivers) Act 2023 requires irrigators completing annual allocation trades and permanent trades of water entitlements and/or delivery entitlements to keep a record of all documentation relating to this transaction for at least five years. This includes when the trade is between related parties.

Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) On-Line training

NRAR have developed, in conjunction with TAFE, a free on-line training course which helps irrigators understand their obligations. It is directly applicable to members with a groundwater bore for irrigation and members who have a groundwater bore for stock and domestic water use. NRAR is responsible for the enforcement of NSW water laws. The tool may also be of interest to members with a general interest in water compliance.

You can access the NRAR on-line training here:  qrco.de/etool_Coleambally.

Conclusion - CEO

I thank Anthony Mannes for his nine years as a director and for providing me with plenty of support and industry wisdom in my time at CICL.

I encourage our members to carefully consider nominations for the vacancy created by Anthony’s retirement. Participation in the Board is an opportunity to help shape CICL’s strategic direction in what is shaping to be an important three years ahead. Our business and the water sector are challenging and fascinating areas to be involved and vitally important to CICL, its members and the Coleambally community.

Please place the Member meeting date in your diary, Friday 6 September. I also encourage you or your family to express interest in the visit to Nimmie Caira which is being organised with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.

I again stress the need for you to ensure your 2023/24 invoices are paid by Wednesday 31 July 2024. If CICL does not have cleared funds in our account for invoice payment, or a signed payment agreement with CICL in place by 31 July, members who otherwise meet the active membership criteria will not receive the member benefit.

Julian Speed, CEO

CEO

Water-use Limit, CICL Strategic Plan, Piezometer Damage, Foreign Ownership, Basin Plan, NewsletterTherese Chauncy