GOULBURN Murray Water is warning people against illegally pumping water from storages and waterways following a spate of incidents.
GMW says there have been several cases of people parking at boat ramps or besides waterways on public roads and pumping water into their trailer tanks.
Water delivery services general manager Warren Blyth said people caught doing this would face legal action. 
“The water stored in our lakes, dams and reservoirs belongs to entitlement holders,” he said.
“When people illegally take water from our storages and waterways, they are taking our customers’ water.
“Water is a valuable and limited resource. To ensure fairness in how it is used, we take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of unauthorised take.”
People who are caught pumping water from a GMW storage or waterway without the authorisations can be prosecuted for water theft under the Water Act 1989.
Mr Blyth said those in need of water, but lacking entitlements could contact GMW to discuss their options.
“Our diversions inspectors can help people with any questions about how they can gain authorisation to take water,” he said.