Water Resource Plans NSW GAB Shallow Water Resource Plan Area GW13 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Department of Planning, Industry and Environment – Lightning Ridge, August 2019 NSW MDB GAB Shallow and Intersecting Streams WRPs

Water Resource Plans

NSW GAB Shallow Water Resource Plan Area GW13 Intersecting Streams Water Resource Plan Area SW13

Agenda

1. Water resource plans – why? 2. Water resource plans – what? 3. Water resource plans and water sharing plans 4. Process for development of water resource plans 5. Intersecting Streams WRP and changes to the WSP 6. NSW GAB Shallow groundwater status 7. NSW GAB Shallow WRP and changes to the WSP 8. Public exhibition – have your say

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

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 – achieving Basin Plan outcomes

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

Water resource plans – a Basin Plan requirement

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 of 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
• bjectives
• 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 statutory ‘water sharing plans’

The water resource plan and the water sharing plan

DPIE – GAB SHALLOW WRP – AUGUST 2019

Questions?

DEVELOP CONSULT APPROVE & ACCREDIT IMPLEMENT

Status & Issues paper May/Aug 2017 Strategy & rule development Draft WRP Public exhibition WRP July/August 2019 Ministerial approval Final WRP MDBA assessment & Commonwealth Minister accreditation WRP Commences 2020

Process for developing water resource plans

May/August 2017: Status and issues papers September 2017 – January 2019

Six NSW Groundwater Stakeholder Advisory Panel meetings (out of session SAP consultations undertaken April and May 2019) Two All SAP Surface Water meetings were held during the WRP development process. State-wide planning and policy positions were discussed.

NSW GAB Shallow WRP – consultation to date

In progress: Public consultation First Nations consultation

Number of Nations

The plans have been revised to:

• Be more ‘readable’
• Be more legally robust
• For groundwater:
• Address inconsistencies between similar water sources

Proposed changes to the water sharing plans

Surface Water Water Resource Plan: Intersecting Streams

Intersecting Streams Surface WRP area

Removal of groundwater sources and associated rules Improve consistency and alignment with policy positions Objectives, strategies and performance indicators revised Establish a second extraction limit, which is the sustainable diversion limit specified in the Basin Plan 2012, and incorporate an assessment and compliance framework for this limit. Minor wording changes to the interstate trade clause to make the intent clear

Intersecting Streams Unregulated River Water Sources WSP

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Groundwater Water Resource Plan: NSW GAB Shallow

NSW GAB Shallow Water Resource Plan – area covered

Align long term average annual extraction limits to Basin Plan sustainable diversion limits (GAB Shallow)

• The long-term average annual extraction limits of the NSW

GAB Surat Shallow, NSW GAB Warrego Shallow and NSW GAB Central Shallow groundwater sources have been reduced to align with the sustainable diversion limit of the NSW GAB

• Shallow. The limit is above the current rights and entitlements

so existing take will not be affected.

• NSW GAB Central Shallow is divided into two groundwater

sources: - NSW GAB Central Shallow (North Western) and

• NSW GAB Central Shallow (MDB)

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Current WSP LTAAEL and Basin Plan SDLs

SDL Resource Unit SDL Groundwater Source LTAAEL from current WSP LTAAEL in draft plan NSW GAB Surat Shallow 15.5 GL/yr NSW GAB Surat Shallow 143,335 ML 15,500ML NSW GAB Warrego Shallow 33.4 GL/yr NSW GAB Warrego Shallow 115,710 ML 33,400ML NSW GAB Central Shallow 8.83 GL/yr NSW GAB Central Shallow 145,552 ML 8,830ML

Long term average annual extraction compliance period extended from 3 to 5 years in NSW GAB Shallow

• For consistency across groundwater sources
• Allows for greater flexibility if there is a run of dry years

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000

2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 ML

Great Artesian Basin Surat Shallow Account Water

Account Water Available for Extraction projected account water Extraction WSP extraction limit

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

• 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 – GAB Shallow

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Groundwater dependent ecosystems

• 100 metre distance restriction for new water supply works for

basic landholder rights in all groundwater sources

• 200 metre distance restriction for new supply works other than

basic landholder rights bores in all groundwater sources.

• Additional high probability, high priority groundwater dependent

ecosystems mapped for all areas and included as a Schedule.

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

NSW GAB Shallow Groundwater dependent ecosystems

Standardising distance rules regarding interference between water supply works

• All groundwater sources - changes to GAB Central Shallow (North Western), the

GAB Central Shallow (MDB) and the GAB Warrego Shallow Groundwater Sources in red

Distance from: GAB Shallow

neighbours works (a >20ML/year; b <20ML/year)

a400m / b200m

solely BLR bores 200m neighbours works (boundary - without consent) 100m (currently 50m) a water utility bore (unless consent provided) 1,000m (currently

500m)

a government monitoring bore 400m (currently 200m)

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Additional rules to reduce risks to groundwater from contamination sources Unless bores are constructed to be isolated from contamination source:

• Distances of new bores from edge of plumes
• Distances from septics unless constructed in a certain

way

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Questions?

Public Exhibition period The NSW GAB Shallow Water Resource Plan will be on public exhibition from 15th July to 23rd August 2019. The Intersecting Streams Surface Water Resource Plan will be on public exhibition from 22nd July to 30th August 2019. More information For more information or to make an online submission

• n the draft water resource plan, visit:

www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water-resource-plan-consultation Have Your Say www.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw/have-your-say

Have your say