New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE ALSTONVILLE PLATEAU GROUNDWATER SOURCES 2003 - REG 29

29 Available water determinations

(1) This Division is made in accordance with section 20 (2) (b) of the Act.

(2) In making an available water determination under section 59 of the Act, the Minister should consider the following rules:

(a) water extraction in each groundwater source will be monitored in each water accounting year to determine if any growth in volumes extracted is occurring above the extraction limit in clause 27, based on comparison of the extraction limit against the average extraction within the groundwater source over that year and the preceding 2 years,

Note: A water accounting year is defined in clause 34 (3).

(b) if water that, pursuant to an access licence, is committed as adaptive environmental water to be left in the aquifer for environmental purposes, then for the purpose of subclause (a), the extraction will be assumed to be 100% of the available water determination,

(c) if water that, pursuant to an access licence, is committed as adaptive environmental water to be extracted for environmental purposes, then for the purpose of subclause (a), the extraction will be that measured through the approved water supply work (bore),

(d) if the 3 year average of extraction in a groundwater source exceeds the long-term average extraction limit established in clause 27 by 5% or greater, the available water determination for the following water accounting year for aquifer access licences in that groundwater source should be reduced by an amount that is assessed necessary by the Minister to return subsequent total water extraction to the long-term average extraction limit,

(e) if the 3 year average of extraction in a groundwater source is less than 95% of the long-term average extraction limit established in clause 27, then the available water determination for aquifer access licences in that groundwater source shall be increased to such an extent as to allow extraction to increase to that extraction limit,

(f) notwithstanding subclause (e) the available water determination will not exceed 100% of total access licence share components,

(g) the available water determination calculated in accordance with this clause will apply to all access licences excepting local water utility and domestic and stock access licences and will be the same percentage for all access licences to which it applies, and

(h) separate available water determinations will be made for both local water utility and domestic and stock access licences, and subject to section 60 of the Act, this shall be 100% of these access licence share components.