New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE STUARTS POINT GROUNDWATER SOURCE 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 this groundwater source will be monitored each water accounting year to determine if any growth in volumes extracted is occurring above the extraction limit in clause 28, 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 this groundwater source exceeds the long-term average extraction limit established in clause 28 by 5% or greater, the available water determination for the following water accounting year for aquifer access licences in the 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 this groundwater source is less than 95% of the long-term average extraction limit established in clause 28, then the available water determination for aquifer access licences in the groundwater source shall be increased to such an extent as to allow extraction to increase to the extraction limit,

(f) notwithstanding subclause (e), the available water determination for aquifer access licences should not exceed 100% of the aquifer 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) a separate available water determination will be made for local water utility and domestic and stock access licences, and subject to section 60 of the Act, this shall be 100% of the access licence share component.