Water Savings Protocol
The Victorian Government has released a Water Savings Protocol for calculating, applying and allocating water savings generated from irrigation modernisation projects.
Water Minister Tim Holding has said the protocol will provide the community with greater confidence in the savings gained from projects such as the $2 billion irrigation modernisation program in Victoria’s Food Bowl.
The protocol’s technical manual allows water savings to be calculated in a consistent and transparent manner, and meets the requirement that all water savings are independently audited.
The technical manual has been accredited in an independent review by internationally-recognised water expert Dr Don Blackmore, who was the chief executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission for 15 years.
The Water Savings Protocol was developed with Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW), the Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP), irrigators, irrigation infrastructure experts and other key stakeholders.
The guidelines in the protocol are comparable to the methods originally used by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission to audit States’ compliance with the Murray-Darling Basin Cap.
An expression of interest process is underway to establish a panel of qualified and independent auditors in time to conduct the first audit of savings from various modernisation projects.
Related documents
Water Savings Protocol - Explanatory Note (PDF~130kb)Water Savings Protocol - Technical Manual (PDF~2.4mb)Water Savings Protocol - Roles and Responsibilities (PDF~586kb)Water Savings Protocol - Audit Process (PDF~336kb)