The Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association (GVIA) represents in excess of 400 water entitlement holders in the Gwydir Valley.
Our water entitlement holders are some of the most progressive in the world, actively engaged in, and innovating irrigated agriculture. From broadacre crops such as cotton to tree crops such as pecans, oranges and olives, our industry is diverse and productive. We are all acutely aware that reliability of water in the valley is low, and thus strive to Make Every Drop Count for the producer, the community and the environment. Read more about us
Securing a future for the Gwydir Valley through Irrigated Agriculture.
Water Allocations
The irrigated olive industry was initiated in the Gwydir Valley over 25 years ago. Olives are a vertically integrated industry with the nationally recognised Gwydir Grove Olives the largest local producer and processor. In recent years the number of olive trees has declined as some producers have switched from olives into pecans.
Oranges are a new irrigation industry in the Gwydir Valley, with the majority of the trees planted since 2005. It is currently expanding with an expected area of 350Ha to be under production by 2020. The citrus industry in the Gwydir Valley is part of the locally owned and vertically integrated Grove Juice business.
The pecan industry is an important irrigation industry for the Gwydir Valley. Trawalla, owned and operated by Stahmann Farms is the largest in the region producing approximately 90% of Australia’s pecans. Australia is the fourth largest global producer of pecans. Stahmann Farms operate the country's only commercial pecan shelling, value-adding and packing plant.
The Gwydir Valley is a diverse broadacre cropping region producing a range of both summer and winter crops. The primary winter crops include; chickpeas, wheat, barley, and more recently canola. While summer plantings include sorghum, faba beans, mung beans, maize and sunflowers. The majority of the broadacre cropping area is dryland.
Cotton is the most significant irrigated crop in the Gwydir Valley with an average of 70,000Ha. It is also an important dryland crop with an average of 79,000Ha annually. The area planted can fluctuate from year to year, being dependant on either available irrigation water and seasonal rainfall.
Lucerne and Hay are niche crops in the Gwydir Valley covering an estimated 4,500Ha. Lucerne is produced primarily on smaller blocks and is irrigated by bore water entitlements. Hay production includes Lucerne, cereals and pastures.
The turf industry has been a part of the irrigation industry of the Gwydir Valley for almost 20 years, but there are only two producers in the valley. It covers a very small area of only 20Ha and is irrigated by bore water entitlements. The primary species produced is Buffalo.
The Gwydir Wetlands are a system of terminal delta wetlands, located downstream of the Gwydir River approximately 45kms west of Moree in north west NSW. They are recognised for their unique vegetation and bird breeding potential. The wetlands are estimated to consist of approximately 6,829Ha of semi-permanent wetland and 77,949Ha of floodplain wetland.
WaterNSW monitor 51 river gauge locations in the Gwydir River and streams(418) using telemetry with data accessible in real time. These sites collect a range of information from flow rate, discharge volume and river heights and assist WaterNSW in their role of water delivery operators whilst providing an indication of water availability.
All water in the Gwydir is managed by water sharing plans established progressively since 2004. Currently 19% of long term Gwydir river flows and 85% of sustainable yield of the Lower Gwydir aquifer are available for irrigation. This has been reduced over time following reforms and water recovery for environment.
The are a number of groundwater sources including the Lower Gwydir aquifer used for irrigation and the Great Artesian Basin, including recharge zones. WaterNSW monitor levels via 26 monitoring sites with data accessible in real time.
Groundwater provides reliable irrigation water, quality drinking water for towns and properties and is one of the region’s major tourism attractions.
Copeton Dam is located on the Gwydir River upstream of Bingara on the north-west slopes of NSW. It is one of the largest inland dams in NSW with a capacity of 1,364,000 megalitres of water. It was initiated in 1966 to provide town water supplies and to boost irrigated agricultural production in the Gwydir Valley.
Notification of GVIA Annual General Meeting 3:00 pm Wednesday 2nd September 2026
GVIA Boardroom, 100 Balo Street, Moree, Followed by General Meeting: 3:30 pm
Please RSVP via the link incluided
Microsoft Teams meeting Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/441904366403785?p=Q4zgfa5pv1OjVcgk8m
Meeting ID: 441 904 366 403 785 Passcode: ji2uJ9Vg
The July Water Allocation Statement came out today. No surprises with 0% allocation. There is 449GL in the General Security accounts (88%)
and 61GL in the Environmental allowance (135%). High security, Supplementary and FPH licence holders received their maximum 9100%) allocation.
During June approx. 2.1GL of ECA water was delivered.
In the 2025-26 water year GS began with 69% of entitlement, there were three allocation increments made resulting in total allocation of 67%
for the 2025-26 year. There was a useage of approx 39% of entitlement (198GL). Supplementary access licences received 40% of entitlements
(72GL).
Good rainfall early in the water year saw Copeton dam storage increase from a starting point of 53% to a leak of 82% with end of year
capacity of 60%,
The full statement is available here for
the Gwydir Valley and here for the
opening allocations for NSW regulated sources
Water Prices set to soar with over cumulative changes of 33% to 42% over next four years:
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved water bill increases of almost 50 per cent, excluding inflation, across
many NSW valleys over the next four years, despite acknowledging that many customers have limited capacity to absorb them.
Water bills in the Gwydir will increase between 7 and 10 per cent plus CPI each year for the next four years. This is a cumulative change of
33 to 42 per cent over the next four years.
