River Murray Water

River Murray Water has been established by the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council as an internal business division of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission for the specific purpose of operating and managing the River Murray system.

River Murray Water commenced operations on 1 January 1998. Its establishment as an internal business unit provides a clear distinction between the service delivery functions of the Commission and its resource management and policy setting functions.

These developments have been achieved within the existing Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, while retaining the essential Basin-wide integration values that lie at the heart of the Murray-Darling Basin Initiative. A critical objective is achieving appropriate distinction between functions in order to clarify roles and accountabilities, while still preserving the commitment to joint action within the context of Basin-wide values.

The primary services provided by River Murray Water are:

Water storage and delivery
Salinity mitigation (operation of salinity mitigation schemes)
Navigation
Recreation and tourism
Other, including hydro-power

How River Murray Water came about

From the mid-1990s, a number of factors have been influencing Australian water authorities to create more business-like arrangements for delivery water services. The two most important factors are:

Separating service delivery from regulatory and resource management policy matters so as to achieve clear and effective outcomes; and
Putting pricing for services on a clear basis which removes cross-subsidies, promotes efficiencies, and ensures sustainability of the assets of the business through full cost recovery.

The Council of Australian Governments when endorsing in 1994 a strategic framework for the efficient and sustainable reforms of the water industry, specifically required the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council to put in place: 'arrangements so that out of charges for water, funds for the future maintenance, refurbishment and/or updgrading of the headworks and other structures under the Commission's control be provided.'
In response to these various drivers, the Ministerial Council decided that a 'water business' should be established with the mission:

"In accordance with the Council of Australian Governments water resource policy and Murrray-Darling Basin Commission policies, to contract with each owner of the water to provide a delivery service which generates adequate revenue to allow effective maintenance and long term replacement/creation of assets and the move towards a positive real rate of return in accordance with a timetable agreed with the owners of the business."

Following developmental work by an advisory committee, River Murray Water was established on 1 January 1998 as an internal business unit of the Commission.

A Board operating as a committee of Commission guides the activities of River Murray Water.