Goulburn-Murray Water has started selling high and low-reliability water, to help fund credits under the Irrigators' Share Distribution program.
Eligible customers, with individual delivery shares of less than 0.25 megalitres a day, will receive credits to their accounts in July.
The credits will be funded by sales of high and low reliability water shares and allocation.
G-W Customer Experience manager Lisa Dudley said water would be released for sale every Monday, through until April, through a public, online auction on the Waterfind platform.
"To guide the sales process, external water trading experts were engaged by G-MW to develop a Water Trading Strategy, Ms Dudley
"This strategy outlines how and when the water shares will be sold.
Parcels range in size from 7.3ML to 265ML.
"About 1220ML of High Reliability Water Shares and 690 ML of Low Reliability Water Shares will be sold, as well as the allocations these water shares will receive from 1 July 2021," a G-MW spokesman said.
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The G-MW Connections Project involved a $2 billion investment to modernise irrigation infrastructure in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District (GMID).
G-MW says on-ground modernisation works have now been effectively completed.
But G-MW's Central Goulburn Water Services Committee chair Peter Hacon disputed the claims it meant the finalisation of Connections.
G-MW was currently completing another water saving project, aimed at clawing back another 17 gigalitres.
"This new one is really Connections continued, really," Mr Hacon said.
"it's the same principal," Mr Hacon said.
But the sale of the shares was agreed upon and avoided small water holders being charged more than what the product was worth.
"This is one way of making sure people get a benefit out of it," he said.
It would not be wise to give small users a portion of a megalitre, which they couldn't do anything with, as it wasn't tradeable.
"It's the best way around that."
Mr Hacon said he was still disappointed that a suggestion to give temporary allocations, every year, had not been adopted.
"They told us it was illegal," he said.
It was not likely to affect prices.
"It's not like its being done in a year when there is a shortage of water, prices are quite good - I don't think it will have any negative impact on the professional irrigator."
G-MW said from early 2022, additional allocation may become available from the Goulburn and Murray offset accounts.
They have been used to maintain system reliability as water shares were issued to the commonwealth during Stage Two of the Connections Project.
"The available volume will be confirmed with the completion of the final audit of the Connections Project in early 2022," G-MW said.
"Following the audit and consideration of all Government commitments, this allocation may be sold on the open allocation market from early 2022."
The current estimated volumes of water available for sale (to fund benefits for delivery share holders below the 0.25 ML/day thresholds) are:
- About 1220 ML of High Reliability Water Shares (HRWS): About two thirds of this volume will be Zone 1A entitlements. There will also be a small volume of Zone 1B water shares available, whilst the balance will be made of a mixture of Zone 6 and Zone 7 water shares.
- About 690 ML of Low Reliability Water Shares (LRWS): The make-up of this parcel is similar to the HRWS, with about two thirds consisting of Zone 1A LRWS, and the balance made up of Zones 1B, 6 and 7 LRWS.
- Allocation: These water shares will also receive allocations from 1 July 2021 up to the time they are sold. All the available allocation will be sold separately, and the financial benefit provided to delivery share holders below the threshold.
Selling about 1220 ML of HRWS and about 690 ML of LWRS was not considered to be a volume high enough to affect or distort the market.