Talking Water - Tuesday 30 June 2026

Barmah Narrows trade opportunity

Murray Irrigation will accept applications on WaterNSW Barmah Narrows trade forms from 9.00am Wednesday 1 July to 12 noon Thursday 2 July 2026 to enable processing and submission to WaterNSW.

WaterNSW advises Barmah Narrows trade applications will be open on Thursday 2 July 2026 from 7.00am to 2.00pm.

Please be aware that Murray Irrigation and WaterNSW fees associated with the applications are non-refundable, including instances where the application is unsuccessful, withdrawn, or incomplete.

Eligible applications submitted for the Barmah Narrows trade opportunity will be processed by WaterNSW, as per the protocol.

For further information and questions on the 2026 Barmah Narrows trading, please call the WaterNSW Water Trade team on 1300 662 077 or email Water.Trade@waternsw.com.au 

New dispute resolution regulations take effect tomorrow

Murray Irrigation would like to remind customers that the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) jurisdiction expands from tomorrow (1 July 2026) to provide free, fair and independent dispute resolution for water supply issues relating to Irrigation Corporations. 

From this time, any customer will be able to make a complaint using EWON’s online complaint form or via their free call number, 1800 246 545.

For more information on these new dispute resolution regulations, visit EWON's webpage here.

Murray Irrigation has also developed a dedicated webpage (below) with additional information. 

Updates to Customer Portal and WEX start tomorrow

Murray Irrigation will begin implementing the first stage of our ICT Transformation (Project Streamline) tomorrow.

Important reminder to customers: When logging into your Customer Portal from tomorrow (Wednesday 1 July), please update your bank account details within the ‘account preference’ section at the top right hand corner of the home page.

Other changes customers will see from 1 July 2026:

• BPAY reference numbers will be updated to match account numbers
• Financial accounts, invoices and online credit card payments will be temporarily unavailable in the Customer Portal
• Automated WEX seller and buyer notifications.

More information on these changes occurring to the Customer Portal and WEX can be found in our Customer Update below. 

Release of the MDBA's 'What We Heard' Report 

The MDBA held an open consultation period on its review of the Basin Plan between 5 February and 1 May this year. Murray Irrigation was involved in the preparation of four different submissions to the MDBA during this time, which you can read here.

Last week, the MDBA released its 'What We Heard' Report, which summarises all of the submissions it received during the 12-week consultation period. You can find an overview of the 'What We Heard' Report here or read the full Report here.

In total, the MDBA received 2,470 submissions.

Key areas where the majority of submission authors believe that Basin water management can be improved includes:

• Maximising the benefits of held environmental water.
• Improving water quality, and providing water for 'critical' human needs.
• Addressing native fish decline, especially by tackling effective carp control.
• Better decision-making transparency by governments, especially in the use of held environmental water.
• Better coordination of environmental water use and related land management, to ensure Basin Plan outcomes are improved overall.

Key points of difference between submissions include:

• Whether or not the Basin Plan should better recognise - and protect - irrigated agriculture and regional communities.
• Whether more water should be recovered for the environment under a revised Basin Plan.
• Whether planning for climate change should commence immediately (i.e. taking steps to protect the environment now, in anticipation of future climate impacts).
• Improving river connectivitiy by protecting river flows in the northern Basin, and connecting rivers with associated floodplains and wetlands in the south.

In total, 990 submissions were approved for public release, and they are accessible here.

While the MDBA hasn't yet made a lot of information available about its planned next steps, we do know that if the MDBA wants to make recommendations to change the current Basin Plan, these have to be finalised by the end of this calendar year.

Murray Irrigation is currently working to confirm the MDBA's intentions for further consultation as its recommendations are finalised.

We will keep you informed about actions we're taking to ensure the interests of Murray Irrigation, our footprint, and our commuities are being effectively represented.

New fee structure Q&A recording 

As announced in our Customer Update on 15 June, Murray Irrigation hosted an online Question and Answer session last Wednesday to help clarify further questions raised post the Board's decision to implement the new fee structure from 1 July 2026.

A recording of this session is available to view below.

Sponsorship applications now closed  

Applications for Murray Irrigation's 2026 sponsorship program closed yesterday (Monday 29 June). 
 
We have received a fantastic response to this year's funding round, and extend our thanks to everyone who has submitted an application. 

Our Review Panel will commence reviewing the submissions shortly, with the successful recipients to be announced in mid-July. 

Thanks again to our customers, whose support makes Murray Irrigation's annual sponsorship activities possible.