- Author Civic Ledger
- Publish date 11 December 2020
- Type Report
- ISBN 978-1-922437-21-1
- Documents
- Horticulture
- Strategic policy development
Summary
Civic Ledger’s improving water markets and trading through new digital technologies pilot project focused on agricultural irrigators operating within the Mareeba-Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme (MDWSS) on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland.
The pilot project sought to deploy and test Civic Ledger’s blockchain enabled peer-to-peer water market and trading platform, Water Ledger. The Water Ledger trading platform was adapted to the MDWSS business and operating rules to observe how blockchain technology can reduce trading costs, improve the efficiency of trade processes, and increase water market transparency.
Project participants include Far North Queensland (FNQ) Growers, Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (QDNRME), Griffith University and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Blockchain Innovation Hub. SunWater supported the research and was a key stakeholder in the research collaboration.
This report provides an overview of how the pilot tested the potential of blockchain and smart contract technology to address three fundamental challenges for effective and efficient water markets:
- Reduce transaction costs,
- Real-time price discoverability
- Interoperability.
The report identifies three horizons for future work and outlines next steps for implementation. Part three of the report is written by Griffith University and includes additional investigation of the Water Ledger trading platform’s technical architecture beyond water trading and correlation or co-dependency on digital technologies such as IoT, sensors, AI, process mapping and analysis, and digital twinning.
Projects
Scaling Next Generation Water Markets in Northern Australia
This project is advancing the design of next generation water markets in northern Australia by exploring how digital innovation, market governance and institutional design can work together to improve water security, social equity and investor confidence. Building on the earlier Improving Water Markets and Trading through New Digital Technologies project, the research examines how transparent, grower-led water markets can better support sustainable agricultural development in emerging irrigation regions. At the centre of the project is the transition of the Mareeba-Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme (MDWSS) in Far North Queensland to Civic Ledger’s blockchain-enabled Water Ledger platform, establishing the scheme as a strategic research test-bed for northern Australia. This real-world implementation enables continuous water accounting and more transparent water trading, while providing a practical framework to test how modern digital infrastructure can improve market participation, liquidity, price transparency and trust in water markets. The project also investigates the broader governance settings required to support effective and equitable water markets, including how market design can improve grower participation, strengthen confidence for investors and ensure fairer access to water resources. By analysing platform adoption, trading performance, user sentiment, financial outcomes and opportunities for further application, the project is helping reshape how water markets are designed and governed in northern Australia, with lessons that may be applicable nationally and internationally. Additional information: https://www.fintechaustralia.org.au/community-news/crcna-and-civic-ledger-scaling-next-generation-water-markets-in-northern-australia https://itwire.com/it-industry-news/market/crcna,-civic-ledger-scaling-next-generation-water-markets-in-northern-australia https://medium.com/civic-ledger/crcna-and-civic-ledger-scaling-next-generation-water-markets-in-northern-australia-f6131657b968 h2oglobalnews.com/crcna-and-civic-ledger-scaling-next-generation-water-markets-in-northern-australia/
Improving water markets and trading through new digital technologies
This project explored how emerging digital technologies could improve the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of water trading in northern Australia. Using Civic Ledger’s blockchain-enabled Water Ledger platform, a pilot was undertaken with irrigators in the Mareeba-Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme on the Atherton Tablelands to test whether digital trading infrastructure could reduce barriers to participation and create more efficient water markets. The project examined how blockchain technology could support faster, lower-cost and more transparent trading of water allocations by improving access to real-time market information, reducing reliance on intermediaries and automating compliance with trading rules. The pilot demonstrated the potential to significantly reduce transaction times, improve price visibility and increase market confidence by creating a more transparent and trusted trading environment. The research also highlighted broader opportunities for digital transformation in water governance, including the potential for interoperable systems that connect water trading platforms with regulators, operators and water delivery infrastructure. While technical and regulatory barriers remain, the project provided an important proof of concept for how digital technologies could support more efficient water allocation, strengthen market governance and help de-risk agricultural investment in emerging irrigation regions across northern Australia. Additional articles: https://www.bitsofblocks.io/post/water-ledger-pilot-project-goes-live www.graincentral.com/uncategorized/fnq-irrigators-tap-into-new-digital-water-trading/ FNQ irrigators tap into new digital water trading