An integrated water trading–allocation model, applied to a water market in Australia

Temporary water trading is an established and growing phenomenon in the Australian irrigation sector. However, decision support and planning tools that incorporate economic and biophysical factors associated with temporary water trading are lacking. In this paper the integration of an economic trading model with a hydrologic water allocation model is discussed. The integrated model is used to estimate the impacts of temporary water trading and physical water transfers. The model can incorporate economic and biophysical drivers of water trading. The economic model incorporates the key trade drivers of commodity prices, seasonal water allocations and irrigation deliveries. The hydrologic model is based on the Resource Allocation Model (REALM) framework, which facilitates hydrologic network simulation modelling. It incorporates water delivery system properties and operating rules for the main irrigation and urban centres in a study area.