Unlike Carbon Markets that focuses on setting a maximum 'cap' on carbon emissions, Water Markets are designed to avoid local resource collapses under uncertainty in rainfall, keeping a minimum 'water cap' available for the environment.
We take a look at what specific designs that exists within the broader term of these markets:
Trading Zones
Trading zones hold a maximum theoretical water capacity measured in megalitres (1ML). Each ML represents 1.000.000 litres of freshwater.
Zones
Border rivers: 635,000 ML
Condamine-Balonne: 229,000 ML
Gwydir: 1,364,000 ML
Macquarie: 1,556,000 ML
Namoi: 923,000 ML
Lachlan: 1,253,000 ML
Broken: 40,000 ML
Campaspe: 305,000 ML
Goulburn: 3,766,000 ML
Loddon: 219,000 ML
Lower Darling: 1,731,000 ML
Lower Lakes: 1,925,000 ML
Lower Murray: 677,000 ML
Murrumbidgee: 2,659,000 ML
Ovens: 37,000 ML
Upper Murray: 6,861,000 ML
These trading zones are regulated by sustainable diversion limit mechanisms that sets a limit to how much water that can be extracted at a given season.
Is the New South Wales enforcer of water laws. NRAR ensures compliance with mandatory metering requirements to ensure all water users report fairly and ethically within the boundaries of the water markets.
The MDBA sets allocations to balance environmental, agricultural, and community needs across the entire Murray-Darling Basin.
Is the new regulatory body that oversees compliance within the regulatory bodies. IGWC conducts reports and investigations into the functioning of the water markets.
Holds the physical infrastructure to transfer water across New South Wales. WaterNSW delivers the water being purchased by opening gates to dams in a trading zone.