Water for the Environment Special Account

The Commonwealth is providing funding to support NSW in delivering the Nap Nap Station Water Efficiency Project. The project will modernise water infrastructure at Nap Nap Station. 

This Schedule will support the Victorian Lower Murray Water (LMW) Water Efficiency Project (Victorian LMW-WEP). 

The Victorian LMW-WEP will recover an estimated 2.5 gigalitres (GL) of Long-Term Average Annual Yield (LTAAY), with the transfer of water entitlements to 1.8 GL LTAAY of water to the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth is providing funding to support South Australia's delivery of the Marion Water Efficiency Project. Through this project, South Australia will substitute the River Murray water used for open space irrigation in metropolitan Adelaide with treated stormwater from an existing scheme at Oaklands Park.

This Schedule will support the New South Wales Off-farm Efficiency Program Feasibility Project (the Project). 

The Project will enable activities required to inform full project proposals that can be considered for funding through the Off-farm Efficiency Program. Activities may include ground surveys, soil testing, hydraulic modelling, detailed design, water loss calculations, cost estimation, water recovery and savings volumes verification, or other activities that are required to inform full project applications. 

This Schedule will support the New South Wales Murrumbidgee Irrigation Automation Finalisation (MAIF) Project.

The MIAF Project will improve water delivery efficiency, increase delivery performance, support agricultural production and regional community, and increase water security across the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, leading to improved agricultural activity and generating benefits for the local and regional communities. 

This Schedule will support the Commonwealth and States to implement the package of supply and constraints measures to give effect to an amendment to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (Basin Plan) which commenced in law on 13 January 2018 and enabled the Basin Plan's Sustainable Diversion Limits to be increased by 605 gigalitres (GL).

The Schedule complements the existing agreement set out in the Project Agreement (Project Agreement for Stage 1 Funding for Sustainable Diversion Limits Adjustment Supply and Constraints Measures in the Murray-Darling Basin) and the deliverables set out in its related Schedule A (Stage 1. Funding for New South Wales Supply and Constraints Measures).

The Schedule accelerates the delivery of five specific measures originally anticipated to be delivered under a new funding agreement for Stage 2 activities. These activities will be accelerated ahead of the completion of Stage 1 (Schedule A to the Project Agreement), and/or prior to the approval for progress with the comprehensive project works package for any remaining Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjust Mechanism (SDLAM) projects. This will allow streamlined assessment and delivery of the five measures by 30 June 2024.

This Schedule will support the Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) Water Efficiency Project to recover 15.9GL of water and facilitate environmental watering across the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District and Murray-Darling Basin. It will lead to improved agricultural activity and generate benefits for local and regional communities. 

The output of this Agreement will be Stage 1 activities (including designs, obtaining regulatory approvals, technical investigations and stakeholder engagement) to progress the development of supply and constraints measures nominated under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s mechanism for the adjustment of Sustainable Diversion Limits. The activities will inform the Commonwealth’s decision to fund the implementation of the measures. 

The outputs of this Agreement are to:

i) develop proposals into feasibility studies, cost benefit analysis and technical reports; or business cases.

ii) implement agreed projects that achieve water recovery with neutral or improved social and economic outcomes. Water savings generated by State-led efficiency measures will contribute to an increase in the volume of Basin water resources available for environmental use by 450 gigalitres.

The outputs of this Agreement are to:

i) develop proposals into feasibility studies, cost benefit analysis and technical reports; or business cases.

ii) implement agreed projects that achieve water recovery with neutral or improved social and economic outcomes.  Water savings generated by State-led efficiency measures will contribute to an increase in the volume of Basin water resources availabe for environment use by 450 gigalitres.