Water Resource Plan Targeted Consultation Proposed Rules for - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Water Resource Plan Targeted Consultation – Proposed Rules for Available Water Determinations ( Upper Namoi Zone 1) Department of Industry – NAMOI ALLUVIUM WRP - June 2019

Background • Water sharing plans are the primary legal framework for managing water access and sharing in the Murray-Darling Basin. • Water resource plans are a requirement under the Basin Plan 2012 . • New ‘ Water Sharing Plan for the Namoi Alluvial Groundwater Sources 2019 ’ • will cover all alluvial groundwater resources of the Namoi and Peel valleys. • replaces the Water Sharing Plan for the Upper and Lower Namoi Groundwater Sources 2003. • As part of this process, the NSW Department of Industry is proposing to include changes to the rules for available water determinations in the Upper Namoi Zone 1 Groundwater Source.

Background cont’d • The Achieving Sustainable Groundwater Entitlements program reduced the Upper Namoi Zone 1 total entitlements of aquifer access licences by 90%. • The local water utility access licence of 1,716ML/yr was not reduced during the original entitlement reductions. However, the local water utility licence was amended in 2010 to reduce the share component by 500ML. • Each year, the Department has given aquifer access licence holders in Zone 1 an Available Water Determination of 2.3ML/ unit share (or less if there is an LTAAEL compliance breach), which equates to the 500ML forfeited by the local water utility.

Upper Namoi Zone 1 Location Map

Production bores = 54 Registered BLR Bores = 80 Bores

Rainfall Residual Mass

Quirindi Section Molly Plains Section Braefield Section Hydrographs

Quirindi Section

Braefield Section

Molly Plains Section

Quirindi Section

Upper Namoi Zone 1, Borambil Creek Number of aquifer Share range Combined shares Level of extraction access licences in 2017/18 25 0.5 - 41 200 zero 3 2 - 10 95 70 – 95% 6 6 – 57 165 171 – 236%

Upper Namoi Zone 1, Borambil Creek AWD = 2.3 ML/share; Carryover = 2.3 ML/share Take limit = 2.3 ML/share since forfeit of 500 ML of local water utility licence

Upper Namoi Zone 1, Borambil Creek Proposed account rule changes AWD = 2.3 ML/share; Carryover = 4.6 ML/share Take limit = 4.6 ML/share This allows up to 6.9 ML/share in accounts

Proposed Rule Changes • To ensure continuing access to this water by Upper Namoi Zone 1 users, the Department proposes to formalise the current arrangement in the new water sharing plan, specifically to including provisions that: • allow for a maximum available water determination in Zone 1 of 2.3 ML/unit share of entitlement, • allow carryover of 4.6 ML/unit share of entitlement to ensure the same rules are applied to all users in the Upper Namoi zones, and • set a maximum water account debit of 4.6 ML/ unit share of entitlement.

Questions?