New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE KARUAH RIVER WATER SOURCE 2003 - REG 23

23 Planned environmental water

(1) At the commencement of this Plan, there is no water committed for specified environmental purposes in accordance with section 8 (1) (b) of the Act.

(2) Pursuant to section 45 (1) (b) of the Act, once the Stroud Weir fish passage is constructed and operational, supplementary environmental water is identified and established as follows:

(a) each year during the periods 1 June to 31 July and 1 October to 30 November, the very low flow and A class flow levels established in clause 17 (1) (a) and (b) should be increased to provide and maintain a 10 ML/day flow at Stroud Weir,

(b) these levels are to be maintained until no more than a 3 week, continuous period of flows greater than 10 ML/day occurs at the Weir for each period, or to the end of either period, at which time the very low flow and A class flow levels specified in clause 17 (1) (a) and (b) will reapply, and

(c) the Minister, in consultation with the Minister for Fisheries, may determine a lesser period than three weeks as established in subclause (b), if warranted.

Note: As part of the implementation of this Plan, an expert panel is reviewing the need for a fish passage device on the Weir and the maximum period required for it to operate effectively. This clause establishes the upper limit for the maximum period of restricted flow class access resulting from the operation of the fish passage.

(3) Supplementary environmental water is maintained as follows:

(a) in the very low flow class, during years 1 to 5 of this Plan, the holders of access licences determined by the process specified in clause 49 have restricted access to water,

(b) in the very low flow class, during years 6 to 10 of this Plan, the holders of access licences determined by the process specified in clause 49 are not permitted access to water,

(c) in the very low flow class, all other access licences are not permitted to take water, and

(d) pursuant to clause 51, persons exercising domestic and stock and native title rights may take a combined total for the water source of up to 2 ML/day.