Barmah Choke trade opportunity for new irrigation year

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) Executive Director of River Management Jacqui Hickey said water available to trade downstream of the Narrows (Barmah Choke) on 1 July 2025 would be about 39 gigalitres (GL), around 17 GL less than last season.

“The opening balance is calculated based on the previous water year allocations and despite high allocations in general, inflows during the 2024–25 water year were not sufficient for Victorian low reliability entitlement to receive any allocation, said Ms Hickey.

“Each year we make this information available ahead of the new season to allow water users to make plans.

A restriction on the trade of water downstream of the Narrows (Barmah Choke) has been active since 2014 to protect water delivery to existing entitlement holders and to maintain the local river environment. 

The Narrows is a naturally narrow stretch of the Murray River that runs through the Barmah–Millewa Forest near Echuca.

“While trading water from downstream to upstream of the Narrows is always open, trades from upstream to downstream can only happen if the same or greater amount has first gone the other way – this is the ‘balance’ of trade.

“River managers will continue to assess the balance of trade in planning for the year ahead, by considering factors like storage levels, expected demand, state allocations, and climate forecasts.

There are no plans to relax the restriction on trade through the Narrows in 2025-26. The rules of trade are governed by the Murray–Darling Basin Agreement between the Commonwealth and the Basin state governments.

Market participants are also encouraged to read the trade management protocol developed jointly by the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and WaterNSW.

For more information on how the opening balance of the Barmah Choke is calculated, see Barmah Choke trade balance.