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The Ricegrowers’ Association (RGA) is calling for the NSW Office of Water to conduct new modelling after voicing fears about low water allocations due to carryover rules.

The motion was passed at the half yearly branch meeting of the Wakool, Deniliquin and Victorian branches held at the Deniliquin RSL Club recently.

Ricegrowers’ Association executive director Ruth Wade said they asked for modelling on several carryover water scenarios.

Ricegrower John Lolicato said changes to the original carryover rules meant the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and other irrigators could force allocations down by choosing to carry over water.

‘‘There is the potential for the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and other irrigators to have our major water storages full of carryover,’’ Mr Lolicato said.

‘‘When we first accepted carryover it was on the grounds that it was an insurance policy.

‘‘We could actually guarantee that we were going to start the year with water.

‘‘The clear rule of carryover at the time was there was to be no third party impacts.

‘‘The second clear rule that we had was that once carryover started to take up airspace within the dam then carryover would progressively be lost.

‘‘If the dam was going to fill and spill you would lose your carryover.

‘‘That was the way irrigators all understood carryover.’’

Mr Lolicato said the rules changed in 2004, at the commencement of the water sharing plan, so that carryover could no longer be lost.

‘‘The majority of irrigators didn’t realise that was the case until two years ago,’’ he said.

‘‘It was the first time the dam spilled since 2004.

‘‘The rules at present do not allow for allocations to increase if the dams are full and even spilling until water is actually ordered and used out of the storages.

‘‘This rule virtually forces all irrigators into having to carry over to be able to start the season, especially in wet years.’’

Several people, including SunRice chairman Gerry Lawson, raised concerns about the carryover change’s potential impact on allocations at the meeting.

If large irrigators chose to carry over the maximum 50 per cent of their water, Mr Lolicato said there could potentially be no room in the dam for allocation water - a significant third party impact.

‘‘We could be in a flood year and we don’t have any allocation because the dam is full of carryover water,’’ he said.

Mrs Wade said RGA ‘‘have a lot of questions for the modellers at the NSW Office of Water’’.

‘‘What we want is modelling on what would happen if we went back to the old rules ... that said once the dam is physically full and starts spilling, carryover is lost,’’ she said.

The RGA also wants investigation done on the third party impacts that could occur if a large water holder were to carry over the maximum 50 per cent of their entitlements.

Mr Lolicato also serves on the customer services committee, as an irrigator representative that advises State Water and the NSW Office of Water.

He said the committee has had carryover concerns for some time, and had modelling done to assess the impacts of various carryover rules.

‘‘We request that the NSW Government look seriously at reinstating the original carryover rules that there should be no third part impact by the use of carryover.

‘‘The second one was that once carryover actually starts taking up airspace within the dam it should be progressively lost to allow allocation to build.

‘‘It (carryover) is an insurance policy and it needs to be viewed as that.’’