Rural tariffs and charges
Water pricing for irrigation districts and rural water users – including fixed service charges and water usage charges.
Every 5 years, Lower Murray Water sets the water tariffs and charges. The Essential Services Commission (ESC) approves this pricing. For more information, see the Lower Murray Water Price Review 2023 (Water Plan 5) on the ESC website.
The ESC has now approved the LMW Water Plan 5 which will run from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2028.
The tariffs and charges you pay for your rural water depend on your property’s location and the services available.
For a summary of rural tariffs and charges, see Rural and urban tariffs and charges 2023/24.
For a summary of rural tariffs and charges for 2022/23, please see Rural and urban tariffs and charges 2022/23.
Rural water customers
Pricing for rural water supply and services applies to these rural districts:
- Merbein Irrigation District
- First Mildura Irrigation District
- Millewa Irrigation District
- Red Cliffs Irrigation District
- Robinvale Irrigation District
- Yelta waterworks district
- Drainage schemes – Bumbang, Tol Tol, Boundary Bend, Nangiloc Colignan
Rural water pricing also applies to:
- groundwater users
- non-water users
- private diverters
See below for the charges and tariffs for each type of rural customer for 2023/2024
Water usage charges
The charges for water usage are based on the amount used. These charges apply for a one-year period – from the last meter reading (before 1 July) until the next reading (before 1 July the following year).
Water usage billing periods
Most districts have quarterly billing periods for water usage:
- 1 July to 30 September
- 1 October to 31 December
- 1 January to 31 March
- 1 April to 30 June
Millewa and Yelta are billed annually in October.
Water charge rules
For a list of water planning and management charges, see Water charge rules.
Irrigation districts
Tariffs and charges for each irrigation district.
*Amended Account 3 due date to February 2024
*Amended Account 3 due date to February 2024
Other water users
Tariffs and charges for other water users.
Private diverters extract water directly from a river or stream outside of an irrigation district.
Non-water users own water shares that are not used or associated with land in the Lower Murray Water service region.
Charges for non-water users include:
-
- fixed service charge
-
- Goulburn Murray Water (GMW) storage fee
-
- water register fee (pass-through)
Groundwater users extract water from the ground for domestic or commercial use – including domestic and stock water users.
Charges for groundwater users include:
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- fixed service charge and operational fee per megalitre of entitlement
-
- application fees for licensing – for example, groundwater bore licensing
-
- salinity impact charges (pass-through).
Termination fees
Irrigation and drainage termination fees for the irrigation districts of Merbein, Red Cliffs, Robinvale and First Mildura are set at 10 times the delivery share for the district.
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