Public consultation | October 2019

An overview of the public exhibition of the Barwon-Darling

Watercourse and Murray – Lower Darling Surface Water Resource

Plan

• Introduction to Water Resource Plans

• Barwon-Darling Water Resource Plan

• Barwon-Darling Water Sharing Plan

• Lower Darling water Sharing Plan

• Public exhibition – have your say

• Drought Update

Agenda

Photo: NSW DPI

Introduction - Water Resource Plans

Legislation

Water Act 2007

(Cwlth)

• Principles

Water Management

Act 2000 (NSW)

• Principles

• Priorities

• Extreme events

Instruments Agencies and roles

Murray Darling Basin

Plan 2012

Water Resource Plans

(WRPs)

• How NSW water

management meets

the Basin Plan

Water Sharing Plans

(WSPs)

• Rules for managing

environmental and

consumptive water

Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA)

• Review state WRPs to show states are managing

water under the Basin Plan requirements

Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH)

• Manage held environmental water that has been

recovered from licence buybacks and efficiency

projects under the Basin Plan

DPIE – Biodiversity Conservation Division (formerly

OEH)

• Manages held planned environmental under

WSPs and held environmental water

DPIE – Water

• Prepares and administers WRPs and WSPs

WaterNSW

• Delivers environmental and consumptive water

orders

Natural Resource Access Regulator (NRAR)

• Compliance with WSPs and water restrictions

Departments and roles in water management

Demonstrate how water resources will be shared and managed

to be consistent with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Set out the requirements for annual limits on water take,

environmental water and managing water during extreme events.

Provide strategies to protect water quality and manage risks.

Set out the arrangements for measuring ‘take’ and monitoring the

resource.

Water resource plan – a Basin Plan requirement

The water sharing

plan forms part of

the WRP. Relevant

parts of a water

sharing plan are

assessed by the

MDBA and

accredited by the

Commonwealth

Minister.

NSW Water Management Act

2000

Water sharing plans

Specify the rules for sharing

water to maintain the health,

sustainability and productivity of

surface water and groundwater

sources across all of NSW.

Commonwealth Water Act 2007

Murray–Darling Basin Plan 2012

Water resource plans

Specify the rules for diverting water

within specified areas of the

Murray–Darling Basin.

Elements include:

• Compliance with the sustainable

diversion limits and water trade

rules

• Protection of water for the

environment

• Water quality and salinity

management and objectives

• Aboriginal values and uses

• Measuring and monitoring

• Arrangements for managing

extreme events

Water Sharing Plans remain the primary

statutory instruments for water sharing in

NSW

Water management in NSW - context

WRP

Compliance with the

sustainable diversion limit

Protection of water

for the environment

Water quality and

salinity objectives

Aboriginal values

and uses

Measuring and

monitoring

Arrangements for

extreme events

NSW

statutory ‘

water sharing

plans’

Water resource plan and water sharing plan

DEVELOP CONSULT APPROVE & ACCREDIT IMPLEMENT

Status

& Issues

paper

February

2017

Strategy

& rule

development

Draft

WRP

Public

exhibition

WRP

September –

October

2019

Ministerial

approval Final

WRP

MDBA

assessment &

Commonwealth

Minister

accreditation

WRP

Commences

2020

Process for developing water resource plans

February 2017:

Status and issues papers

Internal approvals

Other NSW departments approvals

for the water sharing plan

In progress:

Public consultation

First Nations consultation Four Nations

Consultation to date

Stakeholder Advisory Panel

10 meetings

Barwon-Darling Water Sharing Plan

Barwon-Darling water source

Removal of groundwater sources and associated rules

Objectives, strategies and performance indicators revised

Establish a second extraction limit (sustainable diversion limit specified

in the Basin Plan 2012), and incorporate an assessment and compliance

framework for this limit.

Improve consistency and alignment with policy positions

General proposed changes to water sharing plan

Recognition of Native Title Determination for the Barkandji Native

Title holders

Changes to A Class flow thresholds

Removal of access to imminent flows

Protection of the resumption of flow after an extended dry period

Implementation of Individual Daily Extraction Limits

Active management of environmental water

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Changes in A class thresholds

• Revision of the A-Class Flow Thresholds, changes recommended by

NRC and Vertessy Report

• Proposed A Class thresholds based on multiple sources of information

• Protect low flows plus 10% of the base flow range

• No change to thresholds at Walgett Weir and Mogil Mogil

Changes to A class flow thresholds

Management zones in the Barwon-Darling

Gauge Proposed

(ML/day)

Current

(ML/day)

Gauge Proposed

(ML/day)

Current

(ML/day)

Mungindi 198 230 Brewarrina 550 460

Boomi Confluence 176 220 Culgoa

(Beemery gauge) 570 400

Mogil Mogil 220 190 Culgoa

(Warraweena gauge) 645 400

Collarenebri 317 165 Bourke Town 605 350

Tara gauge 100 100 Louth 555 260

Walgett Weir Pool 600 to 900 600 to 900 Tilpa 505 215

Boorooma 400 530 Wilcannia 455 123

Boorooma

(Geera Gauge) 465 530 U/S Lake Wetherell 850 850

Proposed A class flow thresholds

Removal of imminent flows

• Part of the NSW Government response to NRC review

• Current rules allow A and B class licences to request access to low

flows and cease to flow when flows are imminent

• NRC found current rules unlikely to meet requirement for Ministerial

approval:

• granting access is likely to cause unacceptable downstream or

local impacts on the environment or on other users

Removal of imminent flows

Protection of the resumption of flow

Protecting the resumption of flows

Multi-sectional rule design

• Cultural benefits to Aboriginal communities who have an association with the river. It is

important for regional community well-being.

• Local economies often suffer due to the limited recreational and social opportunities during

dry periods.

• Local communities who rely on this water for human needs and for their stock.

• Environmental benefits include protecting pool refugia, maintaining water quality, and wetting

of the channel (especially if there is a larger flow following).

Benefits

Individual Daily Extraction Limits

IDELs will limit the volume of water that can be taken from the river every day so that there is the

potential for water to flow downstream. This will achieve both local and downstream benefits, including

for the environment.

Purpose

The maximum total extraction per day (per licence class) will be the sum volume of all authorised pump

capacities or agreed pumping rates in place in October 2012, just prior to the commencement of the

2012 WSP.

Total daily extraction pool

A Class B Class C Class

513 ML/day 10,962ML/day 8,193ML/day

A water access licence will have a share component and an extraction component.

Individual Daily Extraction Limits (IDEL)

Share pool Extraction pool

The IDEL has three parts;

- location of management zone,

- the daily flow share,

- and an announcement

Distribution:

• IDELs will be distributed based on the licence holders’ share component and will be in the same

proportion as their share of the total of all shares, within each licence class.

• Expressed as a ‘Daily Flow Share’ where 1 DFS = 1 ML unless a lower amount is announced

Trade:

• Permanent trade within river section will be allowed

• No temporary trade is proposed at this stage

Key dates:

• IDELs will be calculated on the first day of public exhibition of the draft water sharing plan (26 September

2019)

• IDELs are to be effective from the beginning of the next water accounting year (1 July 2020).

IDEL details

Active management of environmental water

What is active management

• Current unregulated water sharing plans do not protect held environmental water used in-stream from extraction

The problem

• Increased level of management in unregulated rivers

• Involves forecasting flows and estimating volumes arising from different sources and announcing access

Active management – the solution

• Protects water used in-stream for environmental purposes

• Reduces the need for temporary water restrictions

• Clearer for licence holders and public to know when water can and cannot be taken

The benefits

• from an upstream water source

already protected by the

unregulated water sharing plan

• assessed as additional to the

inflows considered when the

Barwon-Darling water sharing plan

commenced

Planned Environmental

Water

• HEW from northern NSW regulated

water sources and Queensland

storages in the Border Rivers

• Unregulated HEW in an active

management area

A method for determining the volume of

HEW arriving at the NSW-Queensland

border must be agreed by NSW before

HEW originating in Queensland will be

active managed in NSW water.

Held Environmental Water

(HEW)

Water to be protected from extraction

Adjusting access – the concept

In-stream use of unregulated HEW

An environmental water holder will be allocated a volume that they can used on a given day in the same manner as other licence holders

The environmental water holder will need to advise what volume they want to leave in-stream for environmental purposes. They can leave all or some of the water available to them in-stream.

The volume left in-stream will be debited from the HEW allocation account.

The volume debited will be protected from extraction through downstream management zones.

The Procedures Manual will outline:

• The type of water to be protected from

extraction

• How losses are estimated and shared

and operational uncertainty is managed

• How access is determined

• The form and content of

announcements

• The process for accounting for in-

stream use of unregulated HEW

• Must be published on Department’s

website

• Feedback is welcome on Active

Management in Unregulated Rivers –

Draft policy for public consultation

This policy will guide the development of the

procedures manual

Procedures Manual

In summary - changes are proposed to:

Define active environmental water

Adjust access by the amount necessary to

protect the active environmental water from extraction and announce access

Allow unregulated HEW to be left in-stream

Require publishing of an Active Management

Procedures Manual on the Department’s

website

Surface Water Resource Plans:

• NSW Murray and Lower Darling

NSW Murray and Lower Darling WRP area

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Objectives, strategies and performance indicators revised

Establish a second extraction limit, which is the sustainable diversion limit

specified in the Basin Plan 2012, and incorporate an assessment and

compliance framework for this limit

Improve consistency and alignment with policy positions

Standardising provisions for EWAGs and compliance assessment advisory

committees (CAACs).

NSW Murray and Lower Darling Regulated Rivers Water Sources WSP

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

Establishment of a Lower Darling restart allowance

Development of Inter-valley trade procedures to codify current practice

Simplification of the trade clauses to clarify the use of tagged trading between

water sources

NSW Murray and Lower Darling Regulated River Water Sources WSP

Implementation of pre-requisite policy measures in the River Murray &

Lower Darling River

Broaden use of the Lower Darling EWA

Proposed changes to the water sharing plan

NSW Murray and Lower Darling Regulated River Water Sources WSP

Public Exhibition period

The Barwon-Darling Watercourse Surface and Murray – Lower Darling Water Resource Plans are on public exhibition from 26 September to 29 October 2019.

More information

For more information or to make an online submission on the draft water resource plan, visit:

www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water-resource-plan-consultation

Have Your Say

www.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw/have-your-say

Have your say

Final Questions?

Barwon-Darling and Lower Darling

Drought update

18 October 2019 Michael Wrathall

Water Drought Coordinator

Rainfall

• Since January 2017,

rainfall has been the

lowest on record for

NSW

• Total winter 2019

rainfall in NSW was the

fourth-lowest on record

and the lowest since

1982

Temperature

• The 2017 and 2018

calendar years were

the warmest on record

in NSW

• Mean temperatures in

the northern basin >1.5 oC above average

Combined metrics

• 99.2% of NSW is in drought (13

October 2019)

• Most of the recent rain has been coastal

• Soil moisture remains very low

Water storages

• Major rural NSW water

storages are 1/3 of

capacity on average

• Storages are only 5%

of average in the north

• Lowest cumulative inflows in recorded

history

• All water storages have missed the

winter inflows

• Major northern storages running a

deficit to sustain critical needs over

about 2.5 years

Cumulative inflows: northern basin

Overview: Barwon-Darling river

Drought stage

Stage 1:

Normal

operations

Stage 2:

Emerging

drought

Stage 3:

Severe

drought

Stage 4:

Critical

drought

Extreme Events Policy

Measure Date Result

Drought stage May 19 Critical (4)

Temporary

restriction

Apr-Aug

19

Irrigation access

suspended

Temporary

restriction

Mar-Jun

18

Irrigation access

suspended

● Currently no flows along full river length

● Pumping has been restricted to all

flows since mid 2017

● No flows over Bourke weir since 18 August

2018 - the cease to flow is now a record 425

days long

Overview: Lower Darling river

Drought stage

Stage 1:

Normal

operations

Stage 2:

Emerging

drought

Stage 3:

Severe

drought

Stage 4:

Critical

drought

Extreme Events Policy

Measure Date Result

Drought stage Dec 18 Critical (4)

Temporary

restriction Dec

18

Extraction for

domestic,

stock &

permanent

plantings

Two temporary

weirs

constructed

Nov 18 Upstream of

Pooncarie

Temporary

weir in Lake

Pamamaroo

Sep 18 Pumped

transfer to

Copi Hollow

Two temporary

weirs

constructed

Jun 18 Downstream

of Pooncarie

Temporary

bank in Lake

Wetherell

Mar 18 Pumped

transfer to

reduce

evaporation

● Lake Wetherell ~ 8,000 ML

● Copi Hollow ~ 4,000 ML

● No inflows since August 2018

0.7%

of

capaci

ty

Autumn/Winter 2019

● Flows have now ceased along

the Barwon-Darling

● Flows reached Wilcannia on

15 June, but not Lake Wetherell

● Flows contributed to town water

supply weirs, including Bourke

Northern fish flow event 2019

Collarenebri Weir: before and after flow

21 May 2019

28 May 2019

28 May 2019

Source: CEWO, 11 Sep 2019

Warrego flows 2019

Barring

un

Fords

Bridge

Dicks Dam

Louth

Tilpa

Wilcannia

Toorale Station

Toorale Water Infrastructure Project

• Removal of Peebles Dam (Phase 1) is scheduled

for October 2019

• Detailed designs for Phase 2 are being finalised

and environmental assessment has commenced

• Pending approvals, the works will commence in

2020 and are due for completion in 2021

• For more info, go to www.environment.nsw.gov.au

How we’re responding

NSW Government drought assistance

$1.8 billion package including:

• Construction of four block banks in the Lower Darling

• 10,000 megalitre transfer from Lake Pamamaroo to Copi Hollow

• Provision of town water supplies

Further support available:

• Interest free or low interest loans

• Funding for shovel ready regional projects

• Transport subsidies

• Assistance for stock disposal

• Mental health and rural financial counselling

• Training to upskill farmers and contractors

Further information: droughthub.nsw.gov.au or call 1800 618 593

How we’re responding

Public meetings

• Three drought roadshows: Feb, May/Jun and

Oct/Nov

• 35 meetings

• 20 different regional locations

• Over 1,000 attendees

Managing in regulated rivers

• Carryover water is restricted or suspended

in 8 out of a total 11 inland river valleys

• High priority allocations are less than the

usual 95-100% in six valleys

• Groundwater allocations are reduced in 8

water sources

• Deliveries have fully ceased in the Lower

Namoi and Lower Darling

• Deliveries have partially ceased in the

Macquarie & NSW Border Rivers

• Deliveries are expected to partially cease

in the Peel

Water quality risks

• Key risks include algal blooms, mobilisation

of salinity with inflows, blackwater events,

stratification of stagnant waterbodies and

decreased oxygen.

• For information on identifying, reporting and

current algal alerts go to Algae page on

WaterNSW’s website.

• For information on water quality for stock and

water testing go to the NSW DroughtHub.

Algal alerts in NSW

15 October

2019

Seasonal forecast

Rainfall

Temperature

DPIE Water

• Allocations

• NSW Extreme events policy

• Temporary water restrictions

• Water sharing plan suspensions

• Critical Water Advisory Panels

www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water

WaterNSW

• NSW water availability: greater

Sydney & regional

• Valley updates

• Algal alerts

• River Operations Stakeholder

Consultation Committees

www.waternsw.com.au

DPI Agriculture

• Available drought assistance

• Drought maps

• State seasonal updates

• Managing farm businesses in drought

• Wellbeing – supporting mental health

www.droughthub.nsw.gov.au

More information

More information

Background information

Fish management

• Increasing risk of fish deaths over summer: low flows, poor quality water

and rising temperatures

• $10 million program of fish rescue and relocation, artificial aeration of

refuge pools and environmental water delivery (where possible)

• In the Macquarie over 80 drought refuge pools have been mapped -

similar actions underway in other catchments

• Over 1,100 adult Murray cod and Golden perch have been rescued from

drying pools in the Lower Darling

• Over 100,000 Murray cod fingerlings have been produced at the

Narrandera hatchery from just 20 fish rescued during the 2018/19 fish

death events

• Large-scale aeration projects in the Lower Darling, Macquarie and

Namoi to support fish in remnant habitats

• DPI Fisheries has established valley-based committees for expert advice

• To report fish deaths, call the Fishers Watch hotline: 1800 043 536