Water purchasing in Murray Darling Basin

The Murray Darling Basin will benefit from $270 million in new water purchasing initiatives by the Federal Government.

A series of three short tenders of $90 million each will be conducted in the southern connected River Murray system in the first half of 2010. The first of the tenders in the southern connected Basin will open on January 11 and close on January 29. Two subsequent tenders are scheduled to open for three weeks, commencing in March and April 2010.

The new tender rounds form part of the government’s $3.1 billion commitment to buy water from the market to put back into the rivers of the Murray Darling Basin.

The 2009/10 tender plan has been designed to improve the transparency of the water purchasing program. At the end of each tender, once the assessment is complete, the government will publish information about the average price paid in the most recent tender for the various entitlement types.

Guidelines and the application form will be available in January prior to the opening of the tender. For copies of the guidelines and application click here. Applications cannot be submitted earlier than 11 January 2010.