Water Resource Plan NSW Border Rivers Alluvium GW18 Department of Planning, Industry and Environment – Texas – August 2019
Agenda Water resource plans – why & why? 1. 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 Public exhibition – have your say 7.
Legislation Instruments Roles MDBA Advises Cwealth Minister Murray Darling Basin Water Act 2000 on WRP accreditation Plan 2012 (Cwealth) CEWO Manages portfolio of Env WRP components Water of Basin Plan DPIE Prepares and administers Water Resource WSPs & WRPs Plans (WRPs) Environmental Water WSPs aligned to Water NSW WRPs Bulk water delivery Water Management Water Sharing Plans Act 2000 (NSW) (WSPs) NRAR Compliance, enforcement & approvals
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 Commonwealth Water Act 2007 Murray – Darling Basin Plan 2012 Water resource plans Specify the rules for diverting water Relevant parts of a NSW Water Management Act 2000 within specified areas of the Murray – water sharing plan Darling Basin. are assessed by the Water sharing plans MDBA, accredited by Specify the rules for sharing water Elements include: the Commonwealth to maintain the health, sustainability • Compliance with the sustainable Minister and form and productivity of surface water part of the water diversion limits and water trade rules and groundwater sources across all resource plan. • Protection of water for the of NSW. environment • Water quality and salinity objectives • Aboriginal values and uses Water Sharing Plans remain the primary • Measuring and monitoring • Arrangements for extreme events statutory instruments for water sharing in NSW
The water resource plan and water sharing plan NSW Border Rivers Alluvial ‘Water Sharing Plan’
NSW Border Rivers Alluvium Water Resource Plan - consultation May 2017: Status and issues paper In progress: Public September 2017 – January 2019 consultation Six NSW Groundwater Stakeholder Advisory Panel meetings Targeted consultation: Meetings with (out of session SAP consultations Queensland DNRME about cross- undertaken April and May 2019) border trade September 2018: First Nations consultation Issues Assessment Report Bigambul, Githabul, Kambuwal, Gomeroi/Kamilaroi and Kwiambul
Process for developing water resource plans DEVELOP CONSULT APPROVE & ACCREDIT IMPLEMENT Status Strategy Draft Public Final Ministerial MDBA WRP & Issues exhibition & rule WRP WRP approval assessment & Commences paper development WRP Commonwealth Minister May 2017 July/August Submit to accreditation 2020 2019 MDBA by 31 (Proposed 1 Dec 2019 July 2020 for WSP)
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.
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan • 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 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).
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan 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.
Questions?
Have your say • 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
Recommend
More recommend
