In Source the bulk licensing node is used to represent the points in a river system at which a bulk access licensing system is debited for usage. A bulk licensing node is connected to one or more gauge nodes and the flow or orders going past these gauge nodes are used to debit water from the portfolio of accounts held by the bulk access licensing system. The bulk licensing node uses the same set up as the water user to determine how much and in which order the water in its portfolio should be used.
Bulk access licensing systems
The phrase "bulk access licensing system" is used to indicate the situation where one or more water entitlements are being used cooperatively by two or more water users. The primary example of this situation is the NSW Irrigation Corporations where tens to hundreds of irrigators share a portfolio of three water entitlements (general security, high security, and conveyance). The idea of a bulk access licensing system could be used to represent other instances where a portfolio of accounts is shared between different uses; such as an environmental entitlement that can be utilized at more than one location.
Resource assessment systems and bulk access licensing systems
To simulate a bulk access licensing system the model user will have to set up at least two resource assessment systems. The primary resource assessment system represents the level at which the portfolio of accounts held by the bulk access licences are credited. Each bulk access licensing system will have to a secondary resource assessment system with its own accounts system to allocate the available water to the users that are sharing.
Water users and bulk access licensing systems
The water users in a bulk access licensing system will have a portfolio of accounts from the secondary resource assessment system. In an order debit system the water user will have their accounts in the secondary resource assessment system debited as they order water. The bulk access licensing system's accounts in the primary assessment system would be debited as the order passed any gauge node connected to the bulk licensing node. Likewise in a use debit system the bulk access licensing system's accounts will be debited as the ordered water flows past the connected gauge nodes; the water users will be debited as they pump their water.
Working with bulk licensing in Source
Each bulk access licensing system will have its own bulk licensing node. The bulk licensing node performs two roles:
- As the holder for the portfolio of accounts held by the bulk access licensing system; and
- Specifies where in the system the debiting of the accounts will take place.
Specifying a portfolio of accounts
Setting up the bulk access licensing system's portfolio of accounts is a three step process:
- Add a bulk licensing node to your system
- Create the bulk access licensing system's accounts and associate them with the bulk licensing node
- Set the priorities describing in which order the accounts will be used
Create one or more water accounts using the Resource Assessment Explorer (refer to Adding an account) and choose the bulk licensing node as the associated account host. The account usage priorities are set up in a similar manner as at a water user node. The account, or accounts, with the lowest value assigned to "priority" will be used first and will be continued to be used until they have no balance remaining. The process will be repeated for each level of priority in order of increasing priority level until there is no remaining balance in any account. In the case of two or more accounts having the same value priority the usage will be distributed in proportion to the share value of each account to the total share value at each priority level.
Figure 1. Bulk licensing node accounts
Specifying debiting locations
One or more locations can be specified as being points where the bulk access licensing system's accounts are debited. Debiting locations are specified by connecting one of the bulk licensing node's lateral link connectors to the lateral link connector on a gauge node.
General information on setting up a resource assessment system is covered here. Each bulk access licensing system will require its own secondary resource assessment system. The principal difference between a primary and a secondary system is that the secondary system sources its water from one or more accounts held in another resource assessment system. To set this up you will have to specify a function under Other Resources that will return the sum of the balances of the bulk access licensing system's accounts.