Water Resource Plans and Water Sharing Plans Murray Alluvium GW8 Howlong 3 July 2019 Focus on the Upper Murray groundwater source NSW Department of Industry / Murray Alluvium WRP
Have your say • Water Resource Plan Public Exhibition period till July 20, 2019 • Feedback being sought from the public and water users • Online submission process on Department of Industry website https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/plans-programs/water-resource- plans/drafts/murray-alluvium • By email: murray.gw.wrp@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Agenda 1. Introductions Presentation – water resource planning 2. 3. Q & A 4. Presentation - status of groundwater - Upper Murray 5. Q & A 6. Presentation - Proposed changes to water sharing plan 7. Q & A 8. How to make a submission Photo by Trade and Investment, Primary Industries
Water resource plans – achieving Basin Plan outcomes Communities with sufficient and reliable water supplies that are fit for a range of intended purposes, including domestic, recreational and cultural use. Productive and resilient water-dependent industries, and communities with confidence in their long-term future. Healthy and resilient ecosystems with rivers and creeks regularly connected to their floodplains and, ultimately, the ocean.
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 monitoring the resource.
Murray Alluvium (GW8) Water Resource Plan
Process for developing water resource plans DEVELOP CONSULT APPROVE & ACCREDIT IMPLEMENT Status Draft Public Ministerial Strategy MDBA Final WRP & Issues WRP exhibition approval & rule assessment & WRP Commences paper development WRP Commonwealth Minister accreditation March/April June/July July 2017 2019 2020 YOU ARE HERE
NSW context – WRPs and NSW Commonwealth Water Act 2007 Water Sharing Plans 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 are assessed by the Darling Basin. Water sharing plans MDBA, accredited Specify the rules for sharing water to by the Elements include: maintain the health, sustainability Commonwealth • Compliance with the sustainable Minister and form and productivity of surface water diversion limits and water trade rules part of the water and groundwater sources across all • Protection of water for the resource plan. of NSW. environment • Water quality and salinity objectives • Aboriginal values and uses • Measuring and monitoring Water Sharing Plans remain the primary • Arrangements for extreme events statutory instruments for water sharing in NSW
Murray Alluvium (GW8) Water Resource Plan Vs. Water Sharing Plan NSW statutory ‘water sharing plans’
Murray Alluvium (GW8) Water Resource Plan - consultation March /April 2017: Status and issues paper September 2017 – January 2019: 11 June – 20 July 2019 Six NSW Groundwater Public exhibition Stakeholder Advisory Panel (SAP) In progress meetings ( out of SAP consultation undertaken April 2019) September 2018: 2018/2019 Issues Assessment Report First Nation consultation December 2019: In progress One targeted consultation meeting
Questions?
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan • Mostly unchanged – equivalent extraction limits, same trade rules, etc. • To align with requirements of the Basin Plan and the water resource plan. • To be more ‘readable’. • To be more legally robust. • To include all alluvial groundwater sources of the Murray catchment. • Specific changes for Upper Murray highlighted in following slides.
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan Align long term average annual extraction limits (LTAAEL) to Basin Plan sustainable diversion limits (SDL) • No change in Upper Murray except to increase LTAAEL by a volume of existing held environmental water. LTAAEL = 14,246 ML/yr • Note entitlements are well in excess of LTAAEL • 403 ML/yr domestic and stock • 59 ML/yr local water utilities • 41,158 unit shares aquifer access
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan Additional provisions for assessing compliance At end of each water year – two assessments of compliance: • First as per current arrangements comparing 5 yr rolling average use with LTAAEL (long term extraction limit in WSP) – as per previous slide. • 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).
Recent use Extraction limit was 14,109 ML/yr and now 14,246 ML/yr Minimal change
Re-capping current water sharing plan rules Compare 5 year rolling average use with the extraction limit
Basin Plan ‘ Annual permitted take ’ • The Basin Plan requires an annual assessment of extractions against ‘annual permitted take’ (APT) which is defined by a APT method established by NSW. • A variable APT is proposed for the Upper Murray for licensed extractors. This method defines a range of annual permitted take volumes that vary around the SDL (13.7GL/yr) as shown on the next slide. • The APT volume that will apply in any one water year will depend on the rainfall recorded at Albury in that water year.
‘ Annual permitted take’ for the Upper Murray Alluvium Rainfall at Albury (July to June) APT Method The APT will be 11.6 GL in a Greater than 931 mm 11.0 GL/yr 900mmrainfall year. Greater than 864 mm and less than or equal to 931 mm 11.6 GL/yr The APT will be 15.1GL in a Greater than 798 mm and less than or equal to 864 mm 12.3GL/yr 500mm rainfall year. Greater than 731 mm and less than or equal to 798 mm 13.0 GL/yr The variable APT method Greater than 598 mm and less than or equal to 731 mm 13.7 GL/yr allows for more extraction in drier years and less in wet Greater than 532 mm and less than or equal to 598 mm 14.4 GL/yr ones. Greater than 465 mm and less than or equal to 532 mm 15.1 GL/yr Less than or equal to 465 mm 15.8 GL/yr
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan Additional provisions for assessing compliance with the sustainable diversion limits under the Basin Plan • 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.
Comparing possible annual permitted take methods
Annual permitted take methods - simple
Annual permitted take methods - variable
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 (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 - This would make a difference in Upper Murray where take can exceed 1ML/share in water year due to carryover and take limit rules. Seeking specific feedback on this from users – now and in future. -
Compliance with long term average annual extraction limit or SDL
Compliance with long term average annual extraction limit or SDL
Compliance with long term average annual extraction limit or SDL
Compliance methods – distribution of impacts Users 1 and 2 • Both have 1000ML/yr entitlement • User 1 very active – limited CO in account • User 2 largely inactive – close to maximum CO in account
Compliance methods – distribution of impacts • More than 41,000 shares of rights • 0.74 ML/share carryover allowed • 1.37 ML/share take allowed in a year • Significant account water liability given entitlement to LTAAEL ratio
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan Groundwater - dependent ecosystems and culturally significant areas • Additional high probability, high priority groundwater dependent ecosystems mapped and included as a Schedule. • Standard setback rules for new water supply works located near groundwater - dependent ecosystems and culturally significant areas will remain unchanged.
Groundwater dependent ecosystems – Upper Murray
Proposed changes to the water sharing plan Standardising distance rules re bore locations There will be only minor changes to these to better align rules across groundwater sources. • New bores used solely for basic landholder rights must be at least 100m from government observation bores. • New bores, other than those used solely for basic landholder rights, must be at least 500m from government observation bores.
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