New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE TOMAGO TOMAREE STOCKTON GROUNDWATER SOURCES 2003 - REG 50

50 Mandatory conditions on water supply work (bore) approvals

Note: In accordance with the Act, actual extraction of groundwater can only be undertaken through an approved water supply work. Standards and conditions relating to the construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of these works are particularly important. If not properly adhered to, the works themselves can be a conduit for contamination of the groundwater source.

(1) 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 ensure that access to the resource is not unacceptably impacted by other authorised extractions,

(f) the water supply work (bore) approval holder is, within 2 months of completion, 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 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 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 the 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.

(2) Additional mandatory conditions on water supply works for the Hunter Water Corporation major utility access licences are specified in Schedule 6.