Improving water markets and trading through new digital technologies

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.

Publication Date
Author

Civic Ledger

ISBN
978-1-922437-21-1
Industry
Horticulture
Strategic policy development
Publication Type
Report