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
on WRP accreditation
DPIE
Prepares and administers
WSPs & WRPs
Environmental Water
CEWO
Manages portfolio of Env
Water
Water NSW
Bulk water delivery
C) NRAR
Compliance,
enforcement &
approvals
WRP components
of 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
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 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
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
20
11
/12
20
12
/13
20
13
/14
20
14
/15
20
15
/16
20
16
/17
20
17
/18
20
18
/19
20
19
/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 on 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
