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Abstract
Increasing pressures on water resources and associated cuts in allocation
currently threaten many irrigators in the Namoi River catchment. In particular, cuts to
groundwater allocation in many zones are expected to have significant negative social
and economic impacts. Changed access to off-allocation water has been seen by
many in the catchment as one possibility for mediating the impacts of these cuts. This
paper discusses water allocation problems in the Namoi River catchment and the way
in which off-allocation water may be utilised under various management strategies. A
conceptual framework for an integrated economic and hydrological model for
considering these options is developed, and details of the economic module are
presented.