New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE LOWER GWYDIR GROUNDWATER SOURCE 2003 - REG 53

53 Mandatory conditions on water supply work (bore) approvals

All approvals for a water supply work (bore) to which this Plan applies shall have mandatory conditions in relation to the following:

(a) the water supply work (bore) is only to be constructed by a driller licensed under section 349 of the Act,

(b) the water supply work (bore) must comply with drilling standards as specified by the Minister,

(c) construction of a water supply work (bore) must prevent contamination between aquifers through proper bore construction,

(d) a water supply work (bore) approval holder must ensure decommissioning procedures comply with applicable standards as specified by the Minister,

(e) a new or replacement water supply work (bore) to access water for basic rights will be required, as a condition of approval, to be constructed to sufficient depth to maintain access to the water source for the life of the work,

(f) the water supply work (bore) approval holder is, within 2 months of completion of the work, or after the issue of the approval if the water supply work (bore) is existing, to provide the Minister with:

(i) details of the work on the prescribed form,

(ii) a plan showing accurately the location of the work in relation to portion and property boundaries, and

(iii) details of any water analysis and/or pumping tests required by the Minister,

(g) if during the construction of the water supply work (bore), saline or contaminated water is encountered above the producing aquifer, such water is to be sealed off by:

(i) inserting the appropriate length(s) of casing to a depth sufficient to exclude the saline or contaminated water from the work, and

(ii) placing an impermeable seal between the casing(s) and the walls of the bore hole from the bottom of the casing to ground level, as specified by the Minister,

(h) if a water supply work (bore) is abandoned, the water supply work (bore) approval holder is to:

(i) notify the Minister that the work has been abandoned, and

(ii) seal off the aquifer by backfilling the work to ground level after withdrawing the casing (lining), as specified by the Minister,

(i) an extraction measurement device shall be installed and maintained on each water supply work (bore) used for extraction of water under an access licence, and such devices shall be of a type and shall be maintained in a manner, which is acceptable to the Minister,

(j) a water supply work (bore) must comply with the relevant local impact management rules in Part 10 of this Plan,

(k) notwithstanding the available water determination, it is the responsibility of the water supply work (bore) approval holder to ascertain from the Minister whether or not there are in place any local impact restrictions before commencing to take water from this groundwater source,

(l) extraction under an access licence through the approved water supply work (bore) is only authorised with respect to the access licences specified on the water supply work (bore) approval,

(m) a water supply work (bore) approval holder must supply to the Minister on request, and to the required standards, a report pertaining to the quality of the water obtained from the water supply work (bore), and

(n) any other conditions required to implement the provisions of this Plan.

Note: It is recommended that the Minister also apply conditions to water use approvals requiring the supply of information on an annual basis on types and areas of irrigated crops.