New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE DORRIGO PLATEAU SURFACE WATER SOURCE AND DORRIGO BASALT GROUNDWATER SOURCE 2003 - REG 39

39 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 for this surface water source:

(a) water extraction in this Unit will be monitored in each water accounting year to determine if there is any growth in volumes extracted above the extraction limit specified in clause 37 (1), based on comparison of the extraction limit against the average extraction within this Unit over that year and the preceding 2 years,

Note: A water accounting year is defined in clause 44 (3).

(b) if water that, pursuant to an access licence, is committed as adaptive environmental water to be left in a river 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,

(d) for all access licences, an initial available water determination, of such volume of water as is equivalent to two times the access licence share component, should be made on 1 July 2003, and such determination should apply for one water accounting year,

(e) from 1 July 2004, available water determinations for local water utility and domestic and stock access licences should be of such volume of water as is equivalent to the access licence share component, with priority given to making this water available above the making of water available to all other categories of access licence, and such determinations should be made annually,

(f) from 1 July 2004, available water determinations for unregulated river access licences, including all subcategories, should be such volume of water as is equivalent to the access licence share component, except as provided in subclauses (g) and (h), and such determinations should be made annually,

(g) if the 3 year average of extraction in this Unit exceeds the long-term average extraction limit established in clause 37 (1) by 5% or greater, then the available water determination for the following water accounting year for unregulated river access licences in this water 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,

(h) if the 3 year average of extraction in this Unit is less than 95% of the long-term average extraction limit established in clause 37 (1), the available water determination for unregulated river access licences in this water source shall be increased to such an extent as to allow extraction to increase to that extraction limit,

(i) notwithstanding subclause (h), and excepting the initial available water determination made in accordance with subclause (d), the available water determination should not exceed 100% of the total access licence share components,

(j) a new available water determination for unregulated river access licences determined under subclause (g) or (h) should be repeated for each of the subsequent two water accounting years unchanged in quantity, and

(k) available water determinations for runoff harvesting access licences should be made annually and should be either the access licence share component or the water that can be extracted from time to time from the approved works, depending on the manner in which the share component is expressed on the licence.

(3) In making available water determinations under Section 59 of the Act, the Minister should consider the following rules for this groundwater source:

(a) water extraction will be monitored in each water accounting year to determine if any growth in volumes extracted is occurring above the extraction limit in clause 37 (2), based on comparison of the extraction limit against the average extraction within this groundwater source over that year and the preceding 2 years,

Note: A water accounting year is defined in clause 44 (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 exceeds the long term average extraction limit established in clause 37 (2) by 5% or greater, the available water determination for the following water accounting year for aquifer access licences 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 is less than 95% of the long term average extraction limit established in clause 37 (2), then the available water determination for aquifer access licences 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 shall 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% these access licence share components.