DWE Home > Home > Across the state > Hunter > Water management in the Hunter region

Hunter

Water management in the Hunter, Central and Lower North Coast

The equitable sharing of water is based on community consultation and scientific research. Sustainable water use is achieved through a strong environmental focus to limit the impacts of water extraction and associated activities by licensees.

Water planning on a grand scale

The Department is presently developing macro water sharing plans across the Hunter, Lower North Coast, and Central Coat areas – covering some 67 water sources. The initial round of community consultation on draft water sharing rules was recently completed. Seven water sharing plans have already been implemented.

The Hunter's water users

The Hunter administers almost 9,500 water licences. These are comprised of approximately:

2,300 surface water
7,100 groundwater
13 controlled works
2 Private Irrigation Districts (Pokolbin and Broke)
2 major utility licences (Hunter Water Corporation and Macquarie Generation)

Total entitlements for water users in the Hunter:

206,906 megalitres - regulated surface water
261,963 megalitres - unregulated surface water
110,961 megalitres - groundwater

Major water users

Macquarie Generation and the Hunter Water Corporation are the major users – with entitlements totalling some 340,000 megalitres – almost 58 per cent of total entitlement. However, actual usage varies considerably from year-to-year for all users – eg Hunter Water Corporation utilised less than 30 per cent of its entitlement during the 2004-2005 water year.

The Gosford–Wyong Councils' Water Authority supplies the major growth area of the Central Coast. Current demand is 30,000 megalitres with a 47,000 megalitre entitlement. The area has been subjected to severe drought in recent years - placing strains on the traditional water supplies. The Department is assisting the Authority to develop new water sources and undertake long-term water planning.