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DWE Home > Home > Water Management > Water access and trade > Water Access Licences and Approvals

Water access and trade

An important message to water users

If you own a water licence, you need to know how to protect this asset and how to use it to maximise your business opportunities.

Understanding your water rights

Why worry about water?

Water is life – it is the cornerstone of our environment. It is essential for healthy communities and underpins economic growth and prosperity. However, water is a limited resource and sharing it fairly has been the subject of major debate and reform within New South Wales and Australia .

This debate has had many positive benefits including a greater understanding of the needs of all users, a commitment of water to the environment and the recognition of the need for property rights for entitlement holders.

Water entitlements – your valuable asset

Protect your asset

As with all assets, you are responsible for its ongoing management and maintenance.

By following some basic steps you can protect the value of your water entitlement:

• Ensure that you keep your Water Access Licence (WAL) Certificate in a safe place. Remember it has similar legal standing to title for land and may be held by a mortgagee. It is therefore a valuable document. For further information regarding your WAL Certificate, please contact your Department of Natural Resources regional office.
• Seek legal advice regarding the inclusion of your entitlement in important documents, such as your Will.
• Check the accuracy of the key features of your WAL Certificate, such as your personal details, water source, your water share, your category of licence, the consent conditions and your responsibilities under those conditions.
• Protect future access to your entitlement by adhering to its terms and understand your licence responsibilities. Remember, licences can be suspended and under extreme circumstances revoked completely.

Enhance your asset

Engage in practices that make the most of your asset, such as:

• participating in water use efficiency programs
• working to eradicate any wasteful usage
• ordering and cancelling water as required in relevant streams (Contact your nearest State Water Corporation office for more information)
• reviewing your trading options, either temporary or permanent, to maximise your commercial opportunities, and
• join or establish a local water user group to promote and participate in water efficiency programs. (Contact your nearest Department of Natural Resources office for more information on water trading and water user groups)

Use water wisely

Managing and protecting our water is everyone's responsibility.

Water wastage affects all other users. We must all work to encourage water efficient activities. Should you become aware of inappropriate use, you can contact:

• your local water users group
• NSW Irrigators' Council
• State Water Customer Service Officers, or
• your local Department of Natural Resources regional office.

All of these bodies promote investment in, and adoption of, efficient water use and voluntary compliance with all licence conditions.

Unauthorised use of water

In some instances, individuals abuse the conditions of their licensed entitlement. This impacts on the security of all other entitlements.

The Department of Natural Resources is responsible for investigating alleged unauthorised use of water. A range of enforcement measures may be pursued for those not adhering to the relevant water laws and therefore not respecting the rights of other users. These measures include warning letters; debiting a water account; suspension and cancellation of licences; and prosecution.

If you have information on the unauthorised use of water, confidentially contact compliance staff at any of the Department of Natural Resources regional offices.

Key contacts

Department of Natural Resources
www.naturalresources.nsw.gov.au

Barwon Region, Tamworth
T (02) 6764 5900

North Coast Region, Grafton
T (02) 6640 2000

Far West Region, Dubbo
T (02) 6883 3000

Central West Region, Orange
T (02) 6393 4300

Murray/Murrumbidgee Region, Albury
T (02) 6041 6777

Hunter Region, Newcastle
T (02) 4929 4346

Sydney / South Coast Region, Wollongong
T (02) 4224 9600

NSW Irrigators' Council, Sydney
www.nswirrigators.org.au
T (02) 9251 8466

State Water Corporation, Dubbo
www.statewater.com.au
T (02) 6841 2000