Water Resource Plan NSW Border Rivers Alluvium GW18 Department of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Water Resource Plan

Department of Planning, Industry and Environment – Texas – August 2019

NSW Border Rivers Alluvium GW18

1. Water resource plans – why & why? 2. Water resource plans and water sharing plan relationships 3. Process for development of water resource plans 4. NSW Border Rivers Alluvium groundwater status 5. NSW Border Rivers Alluvium WRP 6. Changes to water sharing plan 7. Public exhibition – have your say

Agenda

Legislation Instruments Roles

Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) Water Act 2000 (Cwealth) Water Sharing Plans (WSPs) Water Resource Plans (WRPs) Murray Darling Basin Plan 2012 MDBA Advises Cwealth Minister

• n WRP accreditation

DPIE Prepares and administers WSPs & WRPs Environmental Water CEWO Manages portfolio of Env Water Water NSW Bulk water delivery NRAR Compliance, enforcement & approvals WRP components

• f Basin Plan

WSPs aligned to WRPs

Water resource plans – achieving Basin Plan outcomes

Water resource plans – a Basin Plan requirement

Outline how water resources will be shared and managed to be consistent with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. Set out the requirements for annual limits on water take, environmental water, managing water during extreme events. Provide strategies to protect water quality and managing risks. Set out the arrangements for measuring ‘take’ and the monitoring the resource

NSW context – WRPs and NSW Water Sharing Plans

Relevant parts of a water sharing plan are assessed by the MDBA, accredited by the Commonwealth Minister and form part of the water resource plan.

NSW Water Management Act 2000 Water sharing plans Specify the rules for sharing water to maintain the health, sustainability and productivity of surface water and groundwater sources across all

• f NSW.

Commonwealth Water Act 2007 Murray–Darling Basin Plan 2012 Water resource plans Specify the rules for diverting water within specified areas of the Murray– Darling Basin. Elements include:

• Compliance with the sustainable

diversion limits and water trade rules

• Protection of water for the

environment

• Water quality and salinity objectives
• Aboriginal values and uses
• Measuring and monitoring
• Arrangements for extreme events

Water Sharing Plans remain the primary statutory instruments for water sharing in NSW

NSW Border Rivers Alluvial ‘Water Sharing Plan’

The water resource plan and water sharing plan

May 2017: Status and issues paper September 2017 – January 2019 Six NSW Groundwater Stakeholder Advisory Panel meetings

(out of session SAP consultations undertaken April and May 2019)

NSW Border Rivers Alluvium Water Resource Plan - consultation

September 2018: Issues Assessment Report In progress: Public consultation

Targeted consultation: Meetings with Queensland DNRME about cross- border trade

First Nations consultation

Bigambul, Githabul, Kambuwal, Gomeroi/Kamilaroi and Kwiambul

DEVELOP CONSULT APPROVE & ACCREDIT IMPLEMENT

Status & Issues paper May 2017 Strategy & rule development Draft WRP Public exhibition WRP July/August 2019 Ministerial approval Final WRP Submit to MDBA by 31 Dec 2019 MDBA assessment & Commonwealth Minister accreditation WRP Commences 2020 (Proposed 1 July 2020 for WSP)

Process for developing water resource plans

Questions?

NSW Border Rivers Alluvium Water Resource Plan

Align long term average annual extraction limits to Basin Plan sustainable diversion limits

• The NSW Border Rivers Alluvium SDL resource unit = the NSW Border

Rivers Upstream Keetah Bridge and NSW Border Rivers Downstream Keetah Bridge Alluvial groundwater sources.

• The NSW Border Rivers Tributary Alluvium SDL resource unit = the

Macintyre and Ottleys Creek Alluvial groundwater sources.

• The groundwater sources will still be managed to separate long term

average annual extraction limits.

• The plan has been revised to:
• To align with requirements of the Basin Plan and the water resource plan
• Be more ‘readable’
• Be more legally robust

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Additional provisions for assessing compliance At end of each water year – 2 assessments of compliance:

• First as per current arrangements comparing average

extraction and LTAAEL (long term extraction limit in WSP)

• Second comparing extraction in the previous year to a

theoretical and retrospectively calculated ‘annual permitted take’ as required under Basin Plan provisions to assess compliance with the sustainable diversion limit (SDL).

Additional provisions for assessing compliance with the sustainable diversion limits under the Basin Plan

• Simple method for assessing ‘annual permitted take’ proposed for

these groundwater sources

• Directly references compliance provisions in the Basin Plan
• Running balance of ‘overs’ and ‘unders’ each year
• Compliance triggered if running balance exceeds 20% of Basin Plan

‘sustainable diversion limit

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

If long term average annual extraction limit or sustainable diversion limit is breached the Minister can:

• Reduce the available water determination for aquifer access licences the

following year (as per current water sharing plan), and/or

• Limit the water allocation that can be taken, assigned under section 71T of

the Commonwealth Water Act 2007, or otherwise debited or withdrawn from a water allocation account of an aquifer access licence

• Only makes a difference in groundwater sources where allocations

can be ‘carried over’ from one water year to the next. Access licences in the NSW Border Rivers Alluvium do not permit carryover.

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Groundwater dependent ecosystems

• Additional high probability, high priority groundwater dependent

ecosystems mapped for all areas and included as a Schedule.

• All distance restrictions from GDEs remain the same.

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Additional rules to reduce risks to groundwater from contamination sources

• Existing rules for distances from contamination plumes

(250m)

• Additional rule - 500m from a contamination source
• 250m distance restriction from septics unless

constructed in a certain way

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Additional amendment provisions

• Allowing for inter-state trading rules to be developed and
• implemented. This can only occur if and when appropriate

administrative arrangements are in place.

• Allowing for modifications to sustainable diversion limits and

long-term average annual extraction limits to be modified as a result of better information or change in factors use to set limit.

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Questions?

• Water Resource Plan Public Exhibition period until 23 August 2019.
• Feedback being sought from the public and water users
• Online submission process on Department of Industry website:

https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/nsw-border-rivers-alluvium-wrp

• By email: nsw-border-rivers.gw.wrp@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Have your say