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DWE Home > Home > Water Management > Water sharing plans > Macro Water Sharing Plans Setting the water sharing rules

Water management plans

Macro Water Sharing Plans

Setting the water sharing rules

Draft water sharing plans are being developed for unregulated rivers in NSW to achieve a balance between protecting the environment, other instream values (such as fishing) and providing security to extractive uses (such as irrigation). Macro water sharing plans will cover 25 major unregulated river catchments.

Macro water sharing plans manage the extraction of water through water sharing rules by setting:

• extraction limits, the volume of water that can be extracted annually
• dealing rules, which control the trade of water, and
• access rules, which specify when extraction is allowed.

Gathering information

The macro water sharing plans are being developed for a range of widely differing rivers. Some of the issues considered in forming the draft rules include:

• instream values, such as threatened fish that are likely to be affected by flow extraction
• the hydrologic stress – the amount of water extracted relative to river flow
• the extraction value – the economic value of using the extracted water
• the economic dependency of the local community on water extraction
• the sensitivity of estuaries to the removal of fresh water
• current NSW Government Policy

Setting the rules

Indicative access rules were developed by balancing the instream values with the economic dependence of local communities on extraction. The greater the risk to instream values the stronger the environmental flow rules. The higher the economic dependency the less stringent the access rule. Where economic dependency and instream values are both high, more intensive management is proposed.

In the macro water sharing plan the stress from all upstream extraction is compared with the instream values to determine a set of preliminary water trading rules. Trading is not allowed into water sources that have high instream value. Trading will also be limited in stressed water sources so as not to increase pressure on the river.

Regional input

The water sharing rules have been adjusted to suit regional situations. Regional Panels were convened, with representatives from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Department of Primary Industries, the Department of Environment and Conservation and local Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs). These panels compared the indicative water sharing rules to any existing water sharing arrangements and in many cases the current rules were judged to be adequate in terms of balancing the natural and socio-economic values. In these cases, no change is proposed.

‘Report cards' for each water source summarise the information used in the assessment and the proposed draft water sharing rules. A copy of these can be obtained from your local DNR office.

Consultation

The aim of community consultation is to gather additional information on local issues. This local information is critical input needed for the finalisation of the rules. CMAs have been liaising with stakeholder groups to identify any shortcomings in the proposed rules. It is anticipated that this consultation will run through to August 2006, including the formal ‘public exhibition' period.

More information

For more information about the consultation process and to provide input or comment on the proposed draft water sharing rules, contact your local CMA. For more information about the process to date or the decisions made by the Regional Panels, please contact your local DNR office.

Note: This information does not constitute formal legal advice.