Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2016

Part 1 Introduction

Note—

Part 12 allows for amendments to be made to this Part.

1 Name of Plan

This Plan is the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2016 (this Plan).

2 Nature and status of Plan

(1)  This Plan is made under section 50 of the Water Management Act 2000 (the Act).

(2)  This Plan is a plan for water sharing and generally deals with the matters set out in sections 20 and 21 of the Act, as well as other sections of the Act.

Note—

Where a provision of this Plan is made under another section of the Act, the section is referred to in the notes to this Plan.

3 Commencement

This Plan commences on 1 July 2016.

Notes—

1 This Plan replaces the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2003 .

2 In accordance with section 43 of the Act as it currently stands, this Plan will have effect for 10 years from 1 July 2016. The Minister may extend this Plan for a further period of 10 years after it is due to expire, in accordance with section 43A of the Act.

3 Under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Implementing Water Reform in the Murray-Darling Basin and the associated National Partnership Agreement, NSW has agreed to develop water resource plans for Murray-Darling Basin water resources that are consistent with the requirements of the Commonwealth’s Basin Plan 2012 . The water resource plan for the Murrumbidgee area is currently scheduled to commence on 1 July 2019. In order to make a water resource plan that commences by this date, amendments to the Act may be required to enable this Plan to be replaced prior to the end of its 10-year term.

4 Application of Plan

(1)  This Plan applies to the water source known as the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source (this water source) within the Murrumbidgee Water Management Area and the Murray Water Management Area.

Note—

The Murrumbidgee Water Management Area and the Murray Water Management Area were constituted by Ministerial order made under section 11 of the Act and published in the NSW Government Gazette No 180 on 23 November 2001 at page 9389.

(2)  Subject to subclause (3), this water source includes all water:

(a)  between the banks of all rivers, from Burrinjuck Dam water storage (Burrinjuck Dam) and Blowering Dam water storage (Blowering Dam) downstream to the junction of the Murrumbidgee River and the Murray River, which have been declared by the Minister to be regulated rivers, and

(b)  occurring naturally on the surface of the ground or in rivers, lakes and wetlands in the area marked as Lowbidgee shown on Plan Map (WSP027_Version 2), Lowbidgee of the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source (the Plan Map), and

(c)  taken under a floodplain harvesting (regulated river) access licence with a share component that specifies this water source.

Notes—

1 A regulated river is a river that has been declared by the Minister, by order published in the New South Wales Government Gazette, to be a regulated river.

2 Rivers declared to be regulated rivers from Burrinjuck Dam and Blowering Dam downstream to the junction of the Murrumbidgee River and the Murray River by the regulated river order, as at the commencement of this Plan, are listed in Appendix 1.

3 An overview of Plan Map (WSP027_Version 2), Lowbidgee of the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source is shown in Appendix 2. Copies of the Plan Map may be inspected at the offices listed in Appendix 3 and are available on the NSW legislation website.

4 Floodplain harvesting and water storage are defined in the Dictionary.

(3)  This water source does not include water contained in:

(a)  any alluvial sediments, fractured rocks or porous rocks, and

(b)  Talpee Creek, and

(c)  Lake Tala, and

(d)  Five Mile Lagoon.

cl 4: Am 2000 No 92, Sch 12, Part 5 (ins 2018 No 31, Sch 1 [89]); 2016 No 55, Sch 3.48 [1].

5 Understanding the rules in this Plan

This Plan contains various rules. Where appropriate, the rules specified in this Plan are given effect by the mandatory conditions for access licences and water supply work approvals contained in Part 11 of this Plan.

6 Interpretation

(1)  Words and expressions that are defined in the Dictionary to this Plan have the meaning set out in the Dictionary.

(2)  Unless otherwise defined in this Plan, words and expressions that are defined in the Act or in the regulations made under the Act have the same meaning in this Plan.

(3)  Unless otherwise specified in this Plan, a clause that applies to a category of access licence also applies to any subcategories of that category of access licence.

(4)  The Dictionary and Schedules to this Plan form part of this Plan.

(5)  Notes in the text of this Plan do not form part of this Plan.

(6)  Appendices to this Plan do not form part of this Plan.

(7)  A reference to a supplementary water access licence in this Plan does not include a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence.

Part 2 Vision, objectives, strategies and performance indicators

Note—

This Part is made in accordance with section 35 (1) of the Act.

7 Vision statement

The vision for this Plan is to provide for:

(a)  the health and enhancement of this water source and its water dependent ecosystems, and

(b)  the productive and economically efficient use of water resources, and

(c)  the social and cultural benefits to urban and rural communities that result from the sustainable and efficient use of water.

8 Acknowledgement

Respect is paid to the traditional owners of this country, who are acknowledged as the first natural resource managers within this water source.

9 Environmental objectives, strategies and performance indicators

(1)  The environmental objectives of this Plan are to:

(a)  maintain and enhance the ecological condition of this water source and its dependent ecosystems (instream, riparian and floodplain ecosystems) over the long term, and

Note—

The ecological condition of this water source includes high ecological value aquatic ecosystems and key ecosystem functions.

(b)  contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of downstream processes and habitats including in downstream water sources, and

(c)  contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of the water quality of this water source and downstream water sources.

(2)  The environmental strategies of this Plan are to:

(a)  manage extraction within the long-term average annual extraction limit thereby maintaining all water in excess of the long-term average annual extraction limit for the environment, and

Note—

The application of the long-term average annual extraction limit and the assessment and compliance rules in Division 1 of Part 7 of this Plan reserve all water remaining above the long-term average annual extraction limit for the environment.

(b)  mitigate alterations to natural flow regimes in this water source, and

Note—

The rules in Division 1 of Part 6 of this Plan mitigate alterations to natural flow regimes in this water source by ensuring a portion of inflows to Blowering Dam and Burrinjuck Dam is released for environmental use.

(c)  maintain hydrological connectivity between this water source and wetlands associated with this water source, and

Note—

The rules in clause 30 of this Plan maintain hydrological connectivity between this water source and wetlands associated with this water source by ensuring a minimum daily flow is maintained at the end of this water source.

(d)  support environmental events in wetlands associated with this water source such as bird breeding, fish passage and weed management, and

Note—

The rules in Division 2 of Part 6 of this Plan ensure that environmental water allowances are maintained and list the purposes, including to support environmental events, for which environmental water allowance can be released.

(e)  minimise the impact of river regulation and water extraction on the environment in this water source and the wetlands associated with this water source.

Notes—

1 The following rules in this Plan ensure that the impact on the environment from Blowering Dam and Burrinjuck Dam releases and the delivery of water orders are minimised: (a) the rules in clause 43 of this Plan for water delivery and channel capacity constraints, (b) the rules in clause 46 of this Plan for rates of change to storage releases.

2 The environmental flow rules in Division 1 and the environmental water allowance rules in Division 2 of Part 6 of this Plan also minimise the impact of river regulation and water extraction.

(3)  The environmental performance indicator for this Plan is the extent to which the rules and strategies in this Plan have contributed to meeting the environmental objectives in subclause (1) over its term.

(4)  The performance indicator in subclause (3) will be assessed by:

(a)  comparing the ecological condition of this water source at the commencement of this Plan and at the expiration of this Plan by measuring the change in factors including:

(i)  condition indicators in this water source, which may include changes in:

(A)  the diversity of ecological communities, reproductive success of key species and the habitat or recorded range of fish, macroinvertebrates or vegetation, or

(B)  geomorphology, including evidence of fine sediment scour and increased instream habitat diversity, or

(C)  the river condition index of key river reaches,

(ii)  the hydrological regime for this water source, including low, moderate and high flows, and

(b)  considering the extent to which changes in the ecological condition of this water source can be attributed to the rules and strategies in this Plan.

10 Economic objectives, strategies and performance indicators

(1)  The economic objectives of this Plan are to:

(a)  support viable and sustainable water dependent industries over the long term, and

(b)  encourage economic efficiency in the management and use of water.

(2)  The economic strategies of this Plan are to:

(a)  provide a stable and predictable framework for sharing water among individual licence holders and different categories of access licences, and

Note—

The available water determination rules in Division 2 of Part 7 of this Plan and the rules for managing access licences in Part 9 of this Plan provide certainty in how water will be shared between the different categories of access licences.

(b)  provide flexibility for licence holders to use water in a way that reflects the reliability characteristics of their access licence category, and

Note—

The rules for managing access licences in Part 9 of this Plan provide flexibility that reflects the characteristics of the licence category.

(c)  establish a long-term average annual extraction limit and rules for managing extractions within that extraction limit that recognises different climatic conditions in different years, and

Note—

The application of the long-term average annual extraction limit and the assessment and compliance rules in Part 7 of this Plan manage extractions to different climatic conditions in different years.

(d)  provide opportunities for market-based trading of water within environmental and system constraints.

Note—

The rules in Part 10 of this Plan permit a variety of dealings within environmental and system constraints, including permanent trade of water access licences, trade of water allocations and ability to move a water access licence from one location to another.

(3)  The economic performance indicator for this Plan is the extent to which the rules and strategies in this Plan have contributed to meeting the economic objectives in subclause (1) over its term.

(4)  The performance indicator in subclause (3) will be assessed by:

(a)  comparing economic benefits of water extraction and use at the commencement of this Plan and at the expiration of this Plan by measuring factors including:

(i)  the change in regional gross margins versus annual total extractions based on benchmarks established at the commencement of this Plan,

(ii)  the movement of water to higher value uses,

(iii)  the change in unit price of water that is subject to a dealing,

(iv)  the annual total volume of access licence share component that is subject to a dealing, and

(b)  considering the extent to which changes in the economic benefits of water extraction and use specified in paragraph (a) can be attributed to the rules and strategies in this Plan.

11 Social and cultural objectives, strategies and performance indicators

(1)  The social and cultural objectives of this Plan are to:

(a)  foster the social and cultural benefits of the sustainable and efficient use of water, and

(b)  recognise spiritual, social, customary and economic values of water to Aboriginal people.

(2)  The social and cultural strategies of this Plan are to:

(a)  provide water for basic human needs including domestic and stock purposes, and

Note—

The rules for the maintenance of water supply in Division 3 of Part 6 of this Plan ensure that water is available for basic human needs including domestic and stock purposes.

(b)  provide opportunities for Aboriginal people to access water, and

Note—

At the commencement of this Plan, access licences of the subcategory “Aboriginal cultural” have been granted and are available to be accessed by Aboriginal people.

(c)  support water-dependent Aboriginal cultural values within this water source and in downstream water sources, and

Note—

The rules in Division 2 of Part 6 of this Plan ensure that environmental water allowances are maintained and list supporting environmental assets or functions that have been identified as water-dependent Aboriginal cultural values as a purpose for which this water can be released.

(d)  minimise the impact of water delivery on the community.

Note—

The following rules in Part 6 of this Plan minimise the impact of water delivery on the community:

(a)  rules for water delivery and channel capacity constraints,

(b)  rules for priority of extractions for access licences,

(c)  rules for the rates of change to storage releases,

(d)  rules for dam operation during floods and spills.

(3)  The social and cultural performance indicator for this Plan is the extent to which the rules and strategies in this Plan have contributed to meeting the social and cultural objectives in subclause (1) over its term.

(4)  The performance indicator in subclause (3) will be assessed by:

(a)  comparing the social and cultural uses of water at the commencement of this Plan and at the expiration of this Plan by measuring factors including:

(i)  the extent to which domestic and stock rights have been met,

(ii)  the extent to which native title rights have been met,

(iii)  the extent of recognition of spiritual, social and customary values of water to Aboriginal people,

(iv)  the extent to which local water utility access licence requirements have been met, and

(b)  considering the extent to which changes in the social and cultural use of water can be attributed to the rules and strategies in this Plan.

Part 3 Bulk access regime

12 Bulk access regime

(1)  This Plan establishes a bulk access regime for the extraction of water under access licences in this water source, having regard to:

(a)  the environmental water rules established under Part 4 of this Plan, and

(b)  the requirements for water for basic landholder rights identified in Division 2 of Part 5 of this Plan, and

(c)  the requirements for water for extraction under access licences identified in Division 3 of Part 5 of this Plan, and

(d)  the access licence dealing rules established under Part 10 of this Plan.

(2)  The bulk access regime for this water source:

(a)  recognises and is consistent with the limits to the availability of water set in relation to this water source contained in Division 1 of Part 7 of this Plan, and

(b)  establishes rules, according to which access licences are to be granted and managed, contained in Parts 8 and 9 of this Plan and available water determinations to be made contained in Division 2 of Part 7 of this Plan, and

(c)  recognises the effect of climatic variability on the availability of water as described in clause 13, and

(d)  establishes rules with respect to the priorities according to which water allocations are to be adjusted as a consequence of any reduction in the availability of water due to an increase in average annual extraction against the long-term average annual extraction limit contained in Division 1 of Part 7 of this Plan, and

(e)  contains provisions with respect to the conditions that must be imposed as mandatory conditions on access licences contained in Division 2 of Part 11 of this Plan, and

(f)  recognises and is consistent with the water management principles set out in section 5 of the Act.

13 Climatic variability

This Plan recognises the effects of climatic variability on river flow in this water source by having provisions that:

(a)  manage the sharing of water in this water source within the limits of water availability on a long-term average annual basis and the priorities according to which water allocations are to be adjusted as a consequence of any reduction in the availability of water due to an increase in the average annual extraction against the long-term average annual extraction limit, contained in Division 1 of Part 7 of this Plan, and

(b)  manage the sharing of water between categories of access licences on an annual basis in this water source, through the available water determination rules as specified in Division 2 of Part 7 of this Plan.

Note—

Other statutory tools are available to manage for climatic variability within a water source, for example, temporary water restrictions under section 324 of the Act.

Part 4 Planned environmental water provisions

Note—

This Part is made in accordance with sections 8, 8A and 20 of the Act.

14 General

This Part contains environmental water rules for the commitment, identification, establishment and maintenance of planned environmental water in this water source.

Note—

In accordance with the Act, planned environmental water is water that is committed by management plans for fundamental ecosystem health or other specified environmental purposes, either generally or at specified times or in specified circumstances and that cannot, to the extent committed, be taken or used for any other purpose.

15 Commitment and identification of planned environmental water

Water is committed and identified as planned environmental water in this water source in the following ways:

(a)  by reference to the commitment of the physical presence of water in this water source,

(b)  by reference to the long-term average annual commitment of water as planned environmental water,

(c)  by reference to the water that is not committed after the commitments to basic landholder rights and for sharing and extraction under any other rights have been met.

16 Establishment and maintenance of planned environmental water

(1)  Planned environmental water is established in this water source as follows:

(a)  it is the physical presence of water that results from:

(i)  the minimum daily flow rules as specified in clause 30, and

(ii)  the environmental flow rules for Blowering Dam as specified in clause 31, and

Note—

The environmental flow rules in clause 31 ensure a proportion of natural inflows are released from Blowering Dam.

(iii)  the environmental flow rules for Burrinjuck Dam as specified in clause 32, and

Note—

The environmental flow rules in clause 32 ensure environmental flows are calculated and released from Burrinjuck Dam.

(iv)  the environmental water allowances and release rules as specified in Division 2 of Part 6 of this Plan.

(b)  it is the long-term average annual commitment of water as planned environmental water in this water source that results from the application of the long-term average annual extraction limit and compliance rules as specified in Division 1 of Part 7 of this Plan and the available water determination rules as specified in Division 2 of Part 7 of this Plan,

Notes—

1 By limiting long-term average annual extractions to an estimated 1,925,000 megalitres per year, this Plan ensures that approximately 50% of the long-term average annual flow in this water source (estimated to be 4,360,000 megalitres per year) will be preserved and will contribute to the maintenance of basic ecosystem health.

2 The rules in Part 7 of this Plan ensure that there will be water remaining in this water source over the long term by maintaining compliance with the long-term average annual extraction limit. The rules in Part 7 of this Plan provide for a reduction in available water determinations when the long-term average annual extraction limit has been assessed to have been exceeded.

(c)  it is the water remaining in this water source after water has been taken pursuant to basic landholder rights and access licences, in accordance with the rules specified in Parts 7 and 9 of this Plan.

(2)  The planned environmental water established under subclause (1) (a) is maintained in this water source by the:

(a)  minimum daily flow rules as specified in clause 30, and

(b)  the environmental flow rules as specified in clause 31, and

(c)  the environmental flow rules as specified in clause 32, and

(d)  the environmental water allowances and release rules as specified in Division 2 of Part 6.

(3)  The planned environmental water established under subclause (1) (b) is maintained in this water source by the application of the long-term average annual extraction limit and compliance rules as specified in Division 1 of Part 7 of this Plan and the available water determinations as specified in Division 2 of Part 7 of this Plan.

(4)  The planned environmental water established under subclause (1) (c) is maintained in this water source by the rules specified in Parts 7 and 9 of this Plan.

Part 5 Requirements for water

Division 1 General

17 Application

(1)  This Part identifies the requirements for water from this water source for basic landholder rights (Division 2) and for extraction under access licences (Division 3).

(2)  The volumes of water specified in this Part represent the estimated water requirements of persons entitled to basic landholder rights in this water source and the total volumes or unit shares specified in the share components of all access licences in this water source. The actual volumes of water available for extraction in this water source at any time will depend on factors such as climatic variability, access licence priority and the rules in this Plan.

(3)  This Plan recognises that basic landholder rights in this water source and the total share components of all access licences authorised to extract water from this water source may change during the term of this Plan. This Plan manages such changes by having provisions that manage the sharing of water within the limits of water availability, as provided for in Division 1 of Part 7 of this Plan.

Note—

The total share components of access licences in this water source may change during the term of this Plan as a result of:

(a)  the grant, surrender or cancellation of access licences in this water source, or

(b)  the variation of local water utility licences under section 66 of the Act.

Division 2 Requirements for water for basic landholder rights

18 Domestic and stock rights

At the commencement of this Plan, the water requirements of persons entitled to domestic and stock rights in this water source are estimated to total 1,690 megalitres per year (ML/year).

Notes—

1 Domestic and stock rights are set out in Division 1 of Part 1 of Chapter 3 of the Act and must be exercised in accordance with any mandatory guidelines established under the Act with respect to the taking and use of water for domestic consumption or stock watering. The volumes set out in this clause are separate from any volumes of water licensed for domestic and stock purposes in this water source.

2 Inherent water quality and land use activities may make the water in some areas unsuitable for human consumption. Water from this water source should not be consumed without first being tested and, if necessary, appropriately treated. Such testing and treatment is the responsibility of the water user.

19 Native title rights

At the commencement of this Plan, there are no native title holders in this water source. Therefore the water requirements for native title rights are 0 ML/year.

Note—

A change in native title rights may occur pursuant to the provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 of the Commonwealth.

20 Harvestable rights

The requirement for water under harvestable rights in this water source is equal to the total amount of water that owners or occupiers of landholdings are entitled to capture and store pursuant to a harvestable rights order made under Division 2 of Part 1 of Chapter 3 of the Act.

Division 3 Requirements for water for extraction under access licences

Note—

The share component estimates in Division 3 of Part 5 of this Plan include volumes for licensed environmental water. The Environmental Water Register established and maintained by the Department of Primary Industries Water provides a record of environmental water licences, planned environmental water rules and adaptive environmental water plans approved by the Minister. The register can be accessed from http://ewr.water.nsw.gov.au/ewr/main/ewrHome.

21 Share components of domestic and stock access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of domestic and stock access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 35,041 ML/year.

22 Share components of local water utility access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of local water utility access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 23,816 ML/year.

23 Share components of regulated river (high security) access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of regulated river (high security) access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 417,631 unit shares.

Note—

The following subcategories of regulated river (high security) access licences are included in the total 417,631 unit shares:

(a)  2,150 unit shares of Aboriginal cultural access licences,

(b)  19,769 unit shares of Town Water Supply access licences,

(c)  300 unit shares of Research access licences.

24 Share components of regulated river (general security) access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of regulated river (general security) access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 1,891,815 unit shares.

25 Share components of regulated river (conveyance) access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of the regulated river (conveyance) access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 2,968 unit shares.

Note—

This licence volume and the associated available water determinations in clause 62 provide for conveyance losses experienced as regulated river (general security) access licence allocations increase.

26 Share components of Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 243,000 unit shares.

Note—

This licence volume and the associated available water determinations in clause 63 provide for conveyance losses that Murrumbidgee Irrigation Limited experience as regulated river (general security) access licence allocations increase.

27 Share components of Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 130,000 unit shares.

Note—

This licence volume and the associated available water determinations in clause 64 provide for conveyance losses that Coleambally Irrigation Co-operative Limited experience as regulated river (general security) access licence allocations increase.

28 Share components of supplementary water access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of supplementary water access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 198,780 unit shares.

29 Share components of supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences

It is estimated that at the time of commencement of this Plan the share components of supplementary water (Lowbidgee) water access licences authorised to take water from this water source total 747,000 unit shares.

Part 6 System operation rules

Notes—

1 Part 12 allows for amendments to be made to this Part.

2 This Part is made in accordance with section 21 (e) of the Act.

Division 1 Environmental flow rules for this water source

30 Minimum daily flow rules

(1)  A minimum daily flow in megalitres per day (ML/day) must be maintained throughout the water year in the Murrumbidgee River at Balranald gauge (410003), as calculated using the following formula:

 
where the 95th percentile natural daily flow is the daily flow for each month that is exceeded in 95% of the days in that month.

Note—

The 95th percentile natural daily flow is a computer generated number using hydrologic conditions that existed prior to regulation and modelled over the entire period of flow information held by the Department. The hydrologic model is the one that, at the time, is approved by the Minister for determining natural flows in this water source.

(2)  The minimum daily flows in subclause (1) are not to be used to supply access licence requirements or basic landholder rights requirements below Balranald.

(3)  A minimum daily flow of 50 ML/day must be maintained in the Billabong Creek at Darlot gauge (410134) throughout the water year.

31 Environmental flow rules for Blowering Dam

(1)  Transparent flows must be released from Blowering Dam according to the rules in this clause.

(2)  When natural inflows are less than 560 ML/day then the release from Blowering Dam must be greater than or equal to natural inflows plus any water use (other than basic landholder rights use) expected to occur between the dam and the confluence with the Murrumbidgee River.

Note—

Transparent flows and natural inflows are defined in the Dictionary.

(3)  When natural inflows are greater than 560 ML/day then the minimum release from Blowering Dam is to be 560 ML/day plus the volume of water use (other than basic landholder rights use) expected to occur between the dam and the confluence with the Murrumbidgee River.

(4)  The transparent flows released under subclauses (2) and (3) must not be used to meet access licence requirements in this water source between Blowering Dam and the confluence with the Murrumbidgee River.

32 Environmental flow rules for Burrinjuck Dam

(1)  Environmental flows must be calculated and released from Burrinjuck Dam according to the rules in this clause.

(2)  For the purposes of determining the transparent flows required to be released under subclause (5), on each day of the water year, the volume of transparent flows to be released (transparent release volume) must be calculated equal to the lesser of:

(a)  the volume of inflows to Burrinjuck Dam over the previous 24 hour period, and

(b)  615 megalitres (ML).

(3)  For the purposes of determining the translucent flows required to be released under subclause (5), on each day of the water year, the volume of translucent flows to be released (translucent release volume) must be calculated as follows:

(a)  on each day between 22 April and 21 October when inflows to Burrinjuck Dam are greater than 615 ML/day, the translucent release volume must be calculated by multiplying:

(i)  the volume of inflows to Burrinjuck Dam over the previous 24 hour period, and

(ii)  the appropriate Burrinjuck Dam supply volume percentage from the table in Schedule 2, as determined under subclause (4),

(b)  on all other days, the translucent release volume must be zero.

Note—

Translucent flows is defined in the Dictionary.

(4)  For the purposes of subclause (3) (a) (ii), the appropriate Burrinjuck Dam supply volume percentage must be determined by:

(a)  comparing the average daily flow at the Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper gauge (410024) over the preceding 24 hour period with the flows listed for the corresponding date in column 1 of the table in Schedule 1 and determining the catchment condition to be:

(i)  dry when the flow at the Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper gauge (410024) is less than or equal to the flow listed in column 2 of the table in Schedule 1, or

(ii)  normal, when the flow at the Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper gauge (410024) is greater than the flow listed in column 2 of the table in Schedule 1 and less than the flow listed in column 3 of the table in Schedule 1, or

(iii)  wet when the flow at the Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper gauge (410024) is equal to or greater than the flow listed in column 3 of the table in Schedule 1, and

(b)  determining whether the effective storage volume of water in Burrinjuck Dam is:

(i)  less than 30% of full supply volume, or

(ii)  greater than or equal to 30% of full supply volume and less than or equal to 50% of full supply volume, or

(iii)  greater than 50% of full supply volume, and

Note—

Effective storage volume and full supply volume is defined in the Dictionary.

(c)  selecting the appropriate Burrinjuck Dam supply volume percentage from the table in Schedule 2 according to the catchment condition determined under paragraph (a) and the effective storage volume of water in Burrinjuck Dam as determined under paragraph (b).

(5)  Subject to subclauses (6)–(8), environmental flow releases must be made during the 24 hours following the calculations made under subclauses (2)–(4) according to the following:

(a)  if neither the transparent release volume calculated under subclause (2) nor the translucent release volume calculated under subclause (3) is greater than 300 ML, the release must be 300 ML,

(b)  if the transparent release volume calculated under subclause (2) is greater than or equal to the translucent release volume calculated under subclause (3), and the transparent release volume is greater than 300 ML, the release must be made according to the following:

(i)  if the transparent release volume is greater than 300 ML but less than or equal to 450 ML, the release must be the transparent release volume,

(ii)  if the transparent release volume is greater than 450 ML but less than or equal to 615 ML, the release must be 450 ML,

(c)  if the translucent release volume calculated under subclause (3) is greater than the transparent release volume calculated under subclause (2), and the translucent release volume is greater than 300 ML, the release must be made according to the following:

(i)  if the translucent release volume is less than or equal to 1,000 ML, the release must be the translucent release volume minus 315 ML/day,

(ii)  if the translucent release volume is greater than 1,000 ML and less than 10,000 ML, the release must be made according to the following:

(A)  if the Daily Release Balance (DRB) as calculated under subclause (6) is greater than zero, the release volume must be the translucent release volume minus 315 ML/day, minus the lesser of:

(1)  10% of the translucent release volume, or

(2)  the DRB volume,

(B)  if the DRB volume is less than or equal to zero, the release volume must be the translucent release volume minus 315 ML/day,

(iii)  if the translucent release volume is greater than or equal to 10,000 ML, the release volume must be the translucent release volume.

(6)  For the purposes of subclause (5) (c) (ii) (A) and (B), the DRB must be calculated as follows:

(a)  whenever a transparent release made over a 24-hour period under subclause (5) (b) is greater than 300 ML, the DRB volume must be credited by the release minus 300 ML,

(b)  whenever translucent releases are made under subclause (5) (c) (ii), the DRB volume must be debited by 10% of the volume calculated under subclause (3) for the previous 24 hours, until the DRB volume is zero,

(c)  the DRB volume must be calculated continuously from each water year to the next.

Note—

The DRB is calculated to maintain a continuous record of the net difference between the minimum translucent and transparent flows released under this Plan and water credited to EWA2 as described in clause 35.

(7)  Subject to subclauses (8) and (9), if the environmental flow releases made under subclause (5) on each of the previous 10 days have been equal to 450 ML/day, and the release required under subclause (5) is again equal to 450 ML/day, the release must be equal to:

(a)  the inflows to Burrinjuck Dam over the previous 24 hours or 300 ML, whichever is greater, plus

(b)  the volume of any water use expected to occur, other than basic landholder rights, between Burrinjuck Dam and the Tumut River confluence,

up to a maximum of 615 ML.

(8)  Where the volumes necessary to supply access licence requirements and other requirements identified in this Plan exceed the environmental flow release volumes required to be released under subclauses (3) and (5), the volume released must be that necessary to supply access licences and other requirements.

(9)  If some or all of the environmental flow volumes required to be released under subclauses (5) and (7) cannot be released in the required 24-hour period due to system operation constraints, then the shortfall must be added to the minimum release requirement (up to the limit of system operation constraints) for the succeeding day(s) until released.

cl 32: Am 2016 No 55, Sch 3.48 [2].

Division 2 Environmental water allowances rules

Notes—

1 At the commencement of this Plan, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) is responsible for managing environmental water allowances established under water sharing plans. OEH also administers and supports Environmental Water Advisory Groups (EWAGs) to inform the management of environmental water allowances and licensed environmental water (Division 3, Part 5), including providing advice to the Minister. Information on EWAGs is available from OEH’s website at www.environment.nsw.gov.au.

2 At the commencement of this Plan, OEH manages an EWAG for the Murrumbidgee catchment.

33 General

The following environmental water allowances will be maintained for environmental purposes in this water source:

(a)  Environmental Water Allowance 1 (EWA1),

(b)  Environmental Water Allowance 2 (EWA2),

(c)  Environmental Water Allowance 3 (EWA3).

34 Crediting rules for EWA1

(1)  Whenever the sum of allocations from:

(a)  available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences during the water year, plus

(b)  the water carried over in regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation account from the previous water year,

is equal to or greater than 0.6 ML multiplied by the total number of unit shares of regulated river (general security) access licences, EWA1 must be credited with the volume of water specified in subclause (2).

(2)  Subject to subclause (3) (d), the volume credited to EWA1 must be the volume of water in excess of that required to meet the crediting trigger of 0.6 megalitres per unit share (ML/unit share) of available water for regulated river (general security) access licences specified in subclause (1), up to a maximum of 50,000 ML in any water year.

(3)  EWA1 must be credited with an additional volume of up to 50,000 ML from the second provisional storage volume (PSV2) established under clause 41, provided that:

(a)  there is no water remaining in EWA1, EWA2 or EWA3, and

(b)  there is a need for additional releases to provide environmentally beneficial outcomes for water bird breeding, wetland inundations, fish passage and fish breeding and water quality, and

(c)  the additional volume does not exceed the water available in the PSV2, and

(d)  the volume credited to EWA1 in the following year is reduced by the additional volume made available from the PSV2 under this subclause.

35 Crediting rules for EWA2

(1)  Each day that transparent flows releases from Burrinjuck Dam are made under clause 32 (5) (b), EWA2 must be credited with the lesser of:

(a)  the inflows to the storage over the previous 24 hours, or

(b)  615 ML,

minus 300 ML.

(2)  Each day that translucent flow releases from Burrinjuck Dam are made under subclause 32 (5) (c), EWA2 must be credited with a volume equal to 315 ML.

Note—

Clause 32 (6) describes when volumes must also be credited to the DRB account.

36 Crediting rules for EWA3

(1)  EWA3 will have a maximum limit each water year, which will be the total of:

(a)  the cumulative total of the difference between the translucent release volume required to be released under subclause 32 (5) (c) and the translucent release volume calculated using Schedule 3 for the period from 1 July to 31 October, plus

(b)  the cumulative total of the difference between the translucent release volume required to be released under subclause 32 (5) (c) and the translucent release volume calculated using Schedule 3 for the period from 22 April to 30 June of the previous water year.

Note—

This difference between the translucent releases required to be released under subclause 32 (5) (c) and the translucent release volume calculated using Schedule 3 is known as a foregone translucent release.

(2)  Whenever the sum of allocations from:

(a)  available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences during the water year, plus

(b)  the water carried over in regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation allowances from the previous water year,

is equal to or greater than 0.8 ML multiplied by the total number of unit shares of regulated river (general security) access licences, EWA3 must be credited with the volume of water specified in subclause (3).

(3)  The volume credited to EWA3 must be the volume of water in excess of the crediting trigger of 0.8 ML/unit share of available water for regulated river (general security) access licences, according to the following:

(a)  the maximum limit of the EWA3 at the time when available resources are assessed between 1 July and 31 October,

(b)  from 1 November to 31 December, EWA3 must be credited with 50% of the volume of water in excess of the crediting trigger of 0.8 ML/unit share of available water for regulated river (general security) access licences specified in subclause (2),

(c)  the other 50% of the water determined using the trigger specified in subclause (2) but not credited to the EWA3 will be credited to PSV2 established under clause 41,

(d)  from 1 January to 30 June, EWA3 must not be credited.

37 Release rules for EWA1, EWA2 and EWA3

(1)  Releases from EWA1, EWA2 and EWA3 may be made to provide environmental outcomes for the following purposes:

(a)  water bird breeding,

(b)  wetland inundation,

(c)  fish passage and breeding,

(d)  water quality,

(e)  to support environmental assets or environmental functions within and downstream of this water source that have been identified as water-dependent Aboriginal cultural values.

Note—

The values referred to in paragraph (e) will be identified by the Aboriginal Water Initiative and stored on the Aboriginal Water Initiative System database.

(2)  Releases from EWA1, EWA2 and EWA3 must be made to provide maximum environmental benefit and be made to the maximum extent possible.

(3)  Releases from EWA1, EWA2 and EWA3 must not be used to meet water orders for access licences or to meet water requirements in another water source that result from an assignment of water allocations to another water source.

(4)  Releases from EWA1, EWA2 and EWA3 must be made in the following order:

(a)  water credited to EWA3,

(b)  water credited to EWA2 that has been carried over from the previous water year,

(c)  the remaining water credited to EWA2,

(d)  water credited to EWA1 that has been carried over from the previous water year,

(e)  the remaining water credited to EWA1,

(f)  water credited to EWA1 made available from the second provisional storage volume.

(5)  The Minister may seek the advice of an environmental water advisory group in making releases from the environmental water allowances under this clause.

38 Carryover rules for EWA1

(1)  Water remaining in EWA1 at the end of the water year may be carried over to the next water year, up to a limit of 50,000 ML.

(2)  During any flow event where water is spilled from Blowering Dam or Burrinjuck Dam, water in EWA1 carried over from the previous water year will be reduced in proportion to the volume of the water spilled, up to a limit of 50% of the volume of EWA1 carried over from the previous water year.

39 Carryover rules for EWA2

(1)  Subject to subclause (2), water remaining in EWA2 at the end of the water year may be carried over to the next water year, without limit.

(2)  Water remaining in EWA2 at the end of the water year that was carried over from the previous water year may not be carried over again to the following water year.

40 Transfer rules for EWA3

(1)  On 1 November of each water year, 50% of the water remaining in EWA3 must be transferred to the PSV2 established under clause 41 (3).

(2)  On 1 January of each water year, all water remaining in EWA3 must be transferred to the PSV2.

41 Provisional storage volume

(1)  Provisional Storage Volume 1 (PSV1) and Provisional Storage Volume 2 (PSV2) must be established for the purposes of increasing the size and frequency of spill events and to increase water availability in the following season.

(2)  PSV1 must be credited with a volume of water each water year as it becomes available according to the following:

(a)  when the sum of allocations from available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences during the water year and the water carried over in regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation accounts from the previous water year is equivalent to or greater than 0.6 ML multiplied by the total number of unit shares of regulated river (general security) access licences, and provision has been made for the volume determined under clause 34 for EWA1, the next 25,000 ML of water available must be credited to PSV1 prior to any further resources being made available to regulated river (general security) access licences,

(b)  when the sum of allocations from available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences during the water year and the water carried over in regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation accounts from the previous water year is equivalent to or greater than 0.8 ML multiplied by the total number of unit shares of regulated river (general security) access licences, and provision has been made for the volume determined under clause 36 to be credited to EWA3, 8,750 ML must be credited to PSV1 for every additional 0.01 ML per unit share of available water determination made for regulated river (general security) access licences.

(3)  PSV2 must be managed according to the following:

(a)  when the sum of available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences plus water carried over in regulated river (general security) access licences water allocation accounts from the previous water year is equivalent to or greater than 0.8 ML/unit share of the regulated river (general security) access licence share component and provision has been made for the volumes of water determined in clause 36 for the EWA3 and subclause (2) for PSV1, any additional water will be credited to PSV2, up to the volume that was forfeited from PSV2 at the end of the previous water year as specified in paragraph (d), prior to any further resources being made available to regulated river (general security) access licences,

(b)  from 1 November, when the sum of water allocations from available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences plus water allocations carried over in the water allocation accounts of regulated river (general security) access licences from the previous water year is equivalent to or greater than 0.8 ML multiplied by the total number of unit shares specified in share components of regulated river (general security) access licences and provision has been made for the volumes of water determined in clause 36 for EWA3 and subclause (2) for PSV1, the sum of water calculated under clause 36 (3) (a) less the water credits to EWA3 under clause 36 (3) (b) will be credited to PSV2 prior to any further resources being made available to regulated river (general security) access licences,

(c)  PSV2 must be credited under paragraph (b) to a maximum limit which is the sum of water calculated under clause 36 (1) that has not been credited to EWA3 in that water year and any water calculated under clause 36 (1) that has not been credited to EWA3 in the preceding water year,

(d)  PSV2 must be forfeited at the end of each water year,

(e)  during any flow event where water is spilled from Burrinjuck Dam or Blowering Dam, PSV2 will not be reduced.

Note—

PSV2 has been established to account for water that had been released under previous translucent release rules using Schedule 2, but is no longer released under this Plan using Schedule 3.

Division 3 General system operation rules

42 Maintenance of water supply

(1)  The water supply system must be managed so that:

(a)  it would be capable of maintaining supply on an annual basis to those exercising domestic and stock rights and native title rights through a repeat of the worst period of low inflows into this water source, as represented in flow information held by the Department when the first water sharing plan for this water source made under the Act came into force, and

(b)  available water determinations of 100% of share components can be maintained for domestic and stock access licences and local water utility access licence through a repeat of the worst period of low inflows to this water source, as represented in flow information held by the Department when the first water sharing plan for this water source made under the Act came into force, and

(c)  available water determinations for regulated river (high security) access licences of 0.95 ML/unit share can be maintained through a repeat of the worst period of low inflows to this water source, as represented in flow information held by the Department when the first water sharing plan for this water source made under the Act came into force.

(2)  To achieve subclause (1), sufficient volumes of water must be set aside from inflows into this water source and in reserves held in Burrinjuck Dam, Blowering Dam and other water storages.

Note—

Reserves and water supply system are defined in the Dictionary.

43 Water delivery and channel capacity constraints

(1)  Where necessary for determining numerical extraction rights, managing water releases or providing water under access licences, the maximum operating channel capacity in all or part of this water source will be determined and specified in accordance with procedures established by the Minister, taking into account:

(a)  inundation of private land or interference with access, and

(b)  the effects of inundation on the floodplain and associated wetlands, and

(c)  the transmission losses expected to occur, and

Note—

Transmission losses is defined in the Dictionary.

(d)  capacities of water management structures controlled by the Minister.

(2)  The water supply system must be managed taking into account any channel capacity constraints specified by the Minister under subclause (1).

Note—

The following capacities at the commencement of this Plan have been assessed as:

(a)  9,000 ML/day in the Tumut River at Oddys Bridge,

(b)  9,300 ML/day in the Tumut River at Tumut,

(c)  32,000 ML/day in the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai,

(d)  1,400 ML/day in Yanco Creek at the Offtake.

44 Priority of extractions for access licences

(1)  This clause does not apply to supplementary water access licences or supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences.

(2)  Where the extraction component of an access licence in this water source does not specify a rate of extraction as a share of supply capacity or a volume per unit of time, the following priority of extraction will apply whenever supply capability is insufficient to satisfy all water requirements in any section of the water source:

(a)  water will be supplied to domestic and stock access licences, local water utility access licences and regulated river (high security) access licences that have placed orders for water,

(b)  then any remaining supply capability will be shared between regulated river (general security) access licences that have placed an order for water in accordance with a method approved by the Minister.

Note—

Supply capability is defined in the Dictionary.

(3)  Advice from water user representatives should be sought prior to the method in subclause (2) (b) being approved.

Notes—

1 During periods of channel capacity constraint, the implementation of the above provisions may result in short term ordering delays and an inability to supply water requirements from regulated water deliveries on a daily basis.

2 The Department will use meetings with the customer service committee as a means to consult with water user representatives.

45 Numerical specification of extraction components

(1)  The extraction components of access licences in this water source that are affected by a physical supply constraint may be amended under section 68A of the Act to specify a volume per unit of time or share of supply capability in order to share the impacts of any future physical supply constraint amongst access licences.

(2)  The rate of shares specified in the amended extraction components under subclause (1) for:

(a)  domestic and stock access licences, local water utility access licences and regulated river (high security) access licences, should, where possible, be the amount which, in the Minister’s opinion, is sufficient to satisfy the maximum daily water requirements of the access licences in that order, and

(b)  regulated river (general security) access licences should be in proportion to the share component of each access licence.

(3)  When action under subclause (1) is undertaken, the Minister may also amend the extraction components of access licences in other sections of the water source that are not affected by the physical supply constraint to exclude extraction components in sections of the water source affected by the action under subclause (1).

46 Rates of change to storage releases

(1)  Changes in release rates from water storages will be made in accordance with procedures established by the Minister.

(2)  The rules established by the Minister will take into account the following:

(a)  relevant environmental considerations,

(b)  damage to river banks,

(c)  public safety,

(d)  any other matters considered relevant by the Minister.

47 Dam operations during floods and spills

(1)  The operation of Burrinjuck Dam and Blowering Dam during times of flood and spilling of water is to be undertaken in a manner that maintains the safety of dam infrastructure and limits damage to downstream communities.

(2)  Provided it is consistent with subclause (1), operation should leave the storage as full as possible at the completion of the flood event, subject to airspace requirements.

Note—

Airspace is defined in the Dictionary.

48 Airspace operation rules

(1)  Airspace operation of Burrinjuck Dam must be undertaken in accordance with the following principles:

(a)  to assist in mitigating the impact of floods, a volume of airspace may be maintained which is no greater than that which will be refilled by storage inflows prior to a need to release from the storage to supply downstream requirements,

Note—

Paragraph (a) means that Burrinjuck Dam can be reduced to a level that is sufficient for the dam to refill based on the minimum forecast recession inflows.

(b)  downstream impact must be considered before releases to obtain airspace are made.

Note—

Channel capacity constraints will be one of the factors considered in relation to paragraph (b).

(2)  Airspace operation of Blowering Dam water storage must be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Blowering Airspace Deed, to which the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation and the Snowy Hydro Limited are parties.

Note—

The Blowering Airspace Deed requires an airspace volume of up to 190 gigalitres, as advised by Snowy Hydro Limited, for the purpose of emergency power generation. The volume of any releases made specifically to provide the advised airspace, up to the advised airspace limit, will be reserved in Snowy Hydro storages, and is subsequently available to the Department.

Part 7 Limits to the availability of water

Note—

Part 12 allows for amendments to be made to this Part.

Division 1 Long-term average annual extraction limit

49 General

(1)  The availability of water for extraction in this water source on a long-term basis is to be managed in accordance with this Part.

(2)  For the purposes of this Part, all extractions from this water source, excluding Lowbidgee extractions, will be known as Murrumbidgee extractions.

(3)  For the purposes of this Part, all extractions under:

(a)  supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences, and

(b)  domestic and stock rights and native title rights in the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map, and

(c)  floodplain harvesting access licences issued for floodplain harvesting activities in the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map,

will be known as Lowbidgee extractions.

50 Volume of the long-term average annual extraction limit for Murrumbidgee extractions

(1)  Subject to any variation under subclauses (2) and (3), the long-term average annual extraction limit for this water source, excluding Lowbidgee extractions, is the lesser of:

(a)  the long-term average annual extraction from this water source that would occur with:

(i)  the water storages and water use development that existed in 1999/2000, and

Note—

Water use development is defined in the Dictionary.

(ii)  the share components existing at the commencement of the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2003, and

(iii)  the rules defined in the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2003, or

(b)  the long-term average annual extraction from this water source that would occur under Cap baseline conditions as agreed under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement in Schedule 1 of the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth.

Notes—

1 An assessment of the long-term average annual extractions that would result under the conditions specified in paragraph (a) using the Murrumbidgee Integrated Quantity Quality Model ( IQQM ) computer model scenario run number ‘50 EWA1 plus TT’ indicates a long-term average annual extraction volume of 1,925,000 ML/year at the commencement of the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2003 .

2 An assessment of the long-term average annual extractions that would result under the conditions in paragraph (b) using the Murrumbidgee IQQM Cap scenario run number ‘721capm4’ indicates a long-term average annual extraction volume of 1,980,000 ML/year at the commencement of the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2003 .

3 By limiting long-term average annual extractions to an estimated 1,925,000 ML/year, this Plan ensures that approximately 50% of the long-term average annual flow in this water source (estimated to be 4,360,000 ML/year) will be preserved and will contribute to the maintenance of basic ecosystem health.

(2)  The values referred to in subclauses (1) (a) and (b) will be adjusted for any access licence dealing under sections 71Q that occur between water sources within a water management area, 71R or 71U of the Act.

(3)  If an access licence is cancelled as part of an arrangement to provide additional water to the Snowy River under the Snowy Water Inquiry Outcomes Implementation Deed, the values referred to in subclause (1) will be reduced by a volume which appropriately reflects the share components of water access licences in this water source.

51 Volume of the long-term average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee extractions

The long-term average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee extractions in this water source is the long-term average annual extractions, excluding Murrumbidgee extractions, that would occur under Cap baseline conditions as agreed under the former Murray-Darling Basin Agreement that was in place at the commencement of the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2003.

Note—

An assessment of the long-term average annual extraction that would result from the baseline conditions specified in this clause has been made using the Murrumbidgee Cap IQQM computer model with system file capppe20.iqq which indicates a long-term average annual extraction volume of 296,000 ML/year at the commencement of the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2003.

52 Calculation of the long-term average annual extraction limit and current average annual extractions for Murrumbidgee extractions

(1)  For the purposes of calculating the long-term average annual extraction limit and current average annual extractions for Murrumbidgee extractions, the following must be included:

(a)  all water extractions under all categories of water access licences, except where subclause (2) (c) applies,

(b)  all water extractions under domestic and stock rights and native title rights,

(c)  all extractions from the floodplain, except those issued for floodplain harvesting activities in the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map, that are used in conjunction with extractions under a water access licence,

(d)  water allocations assigned from water allocation accounts of access licences in this water source to water allocation accounts of access licences in another water source.

(2)  For the purposes of calculating the long-term average annual extraction limit and current average annual extractions for Murrumbidgee extractions, the following must not be included:

(a)  minimum daily flows made in accordance with clause 30 (3),

(b)  the use of water pursuant to the planned environmental water provisions in Part 4 of this Plan,

(c)  water allocations assigned from water allocation accounts of access licences in any other water source to water allocation accounts of access licences in this water source,

(d)  Lowbidgee extractions.

Note—

Under section 8F of the Act the long-term average annual extraction limit is taken to be varied by the amount of any change to the amount of water committed as licensed environmental water, excluding water committed under section 8C of the Act. The variation in the long-term average annual extraction limit is to be determined in accordance with a methodology approved by the Minister and published in the Gazette.

53 Calculation of the long-term average annual extraction limit and current average annual extractions for Lowbidgee extractions

(1)  For the purposes of calculating the long-term average annual extraction limit and the current average annual extractions for Lowbidgee extractions, the total volume of water taken during that water year by Lowbidgee extractions must be calculated.

(2)  For the purposes of calculating the long-term average annual extraction limit and current average annual extractions for Lowbidgee extractions, the Murrumbidgee extractions must not be included.

Note—

Under section 8F of the Act the long-term average annual extraction limit is taken to be varied by the amount of any change to the amount of water committed as licensed environmental water, excluding water committed under section 8C of the Act. The variation in the long-term average annual extraction limit is to be determined in accordance with a methodology approved by the Minister and published in the Gazette.

54 Assessment of average annual extractions against the long-term average annual extraction limit for Murrumbidgee extractions

(1)  An assessment of average annual Murrumbidgee extractions against the long-term average annual extraction limit for Murrumbidgee extractions is to be conducted as set out in this clause.

(2)  The assessment referred to in subclause (1) is to be undertaken after the end of each water year, using the hydrologic computer model that, at the time, is approved by the Department for assessing long-term Murrumbidgee extractions.

(3)  To assess the long-term average annual extraction limit, the model referred to in subclause (2) must be set to represent as close as possible the conditions referred to in clause 50 (1) (a) and (b).

(4)  To assess current long-term average annual Murrumbidgee extraction, the model referred to in subclause (2) must be set to represent as closely as possible all water use development, supply system management and other factors affecting the quantity of long-term average annual Murrumbidgee extraction at the time of the assessment.

55 Assessment of average annual extractions against the long-term average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee extractions

(1)  An assessment of average annual Lowbidgee extractions against the long-term average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee extractions is to be conducted as set out in this clause.

(2)  The assessment referred to in subclause (1) is to be undertaken after the end of each water year, using the hydrologic computer model that, at the time, is approved by the Department for assessing long-term Lowbidgee extractions.

(3)  To assess the long-term average annual extraction limit, the model referred to in subclause (2) must be set to represent as close as possible the conditions referred to in clause 51.

(4)  To assess current long-term average annual Lowbidgee extractions, the model referred to in subclause (2) must be set to represent as closely as possible all water use development, supply system management and other factors affecting the quantity of long-term average annual Lowbidgee extractions at the time of the assessment.

56 Compliance with the long-term average annual extraction limit for Murrumbidgee extractions

(1)  The long-term average annual extraction from Murrumbidgee extractions may not be permitted to exceed the long-term extraction limit specified in clause 50.

(2)  Pursuant to subclause (1), if it has been assessed that the current average annual extraction from Murrumbidgee extractions, exceeds:

(a)  the volume specified in clause 50 (1) (a) by 3% or more, or

(b)  the volume specified in clause 50 (1) (a) by more than half the difference between the volume specified in clause 50 (1) (a) and the volume specified in clause 50 (1) (b), or

(c)  the volume specified in clause 50 (1) (b),

then the maximum available water determination that can be made for supplementary water access licences under clause 65 will be reduced for the following year in accordance with subclause (4).

(3)  Once the maximum available determination for supplementary water access licences has been reduced to zero under subclause (2), the maximum available water determination that can be made for regulated river (general security) access licences and regulated river (conveyance) access licences under clause 62 will be reduced in accordance with subclause (4).

(4)  The reductions under subclauses (2) and (3) are to be of an amount that is, in the Minister’s opinion, necessary to return the long-term average annual Murrumbidgee extractions to the long-term average annual extraction limit for Murrumbidgee extractions.

Note—

Subclauses (2) and (4) do not relate to supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences as extraction under these licences is accounted for as Lowbidgee extractions. Compliance with average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee extractions is dealt with in clause 57.

(5)  If action has been taken under subclause (2) or (3) and a subsequent assessment under clause 54 indicates that current long-term average extraction is below the long-term average annual extraction by more than 3%, or by more than half the difference between the volume specified in clause 50 (1) (a) and the volume specified in clause 50 (1) (b), then previous reductions under subclause (2) or (3) may be reversed to the degree that is, in the Minister’s opinion, necessary to return the long-term annual Murrumbidgee extractions to the long-term average annual extraction limit.

(6)  Any reversal of previous reductions under subclause (5):

(a)  must not exceed previous reductions made under subclauses (2) and (3), and

(b)  must first reverse any previous reduction in relation to regulated river (general security) access licences and regulated river (conveyance) access licences.

(7)  The assessment of the degree of reduction required under subclauses (2) and (3) or any reversal made under subclause (5) must be made using the same computer model used to carry out assessments under clause 54.

(8)  Before taking action under subclause (2), (3) or (5), the Minister should consult with water user representatives on:

(a)  the data used in the computer model referred to in clause 54, and

(b)  the proposed actions taken in accordance with subclause (2), (3) or (5).

Note—

The Department will use meetings with the customer service committee as a means to consult with water user representatives.

57 Compliance with the long-term average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee extractions

(1)  The long-term average annual extraction from Lowbidgee extractions may not be permitted to exceed the long-term extraction limit specified in clause 51.

(2)  Pursuant to subclause (1), if it has been assessed that the current average annual extraction from Lowbidgee extractions exceeds the volume specified in clause 51 by 3% or more, then the maximum available water determination that can be made for supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences under clause 66 will be reduced for the following water year in accordance with subclause (3).

(3)  The reduction under subclause (2) is to be of an amount that is, in the Minister’s opinion, necessary to return the long-term average annual extraction for Lowbidgee extractions to the long-term average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee extractions.

(4)  Before taking action under subclause (2) or (3), the Minister should consult with water user representatives on:

(a)  the data used in the computer model referred to in clause 55, and

(b)  the proposed actions taken in accordance with subclause (2) or (3).

Note—

The Department will use meetings with the customer service committee as a means to consult with water user representatives.

Division 2 Available water determinations

58 General

Available water determinations for access licences with share components that specify this water source are to be expressed as either:

(a)  a percentage of the share component for access licences where share components are specified as ML/year, or

(b)  megalitres per unit of share component (ML/unit of share component) for access licences where share components are specified as a number of unit shares.

59 Available water determinations for domestic and stock access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for domestic and stock access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  At the commencement of each water year in which this Plan has effect, an available water determination of 100% of the access licence share component should be made for domestic and stock access licences if water is available.

(3)  If the available water determination made at the commencement of the water year under subclause (2) is less than 100% then further available water determinations may be made for domestic and stock access licences when water becomes available.

(4)  The sum of available water determinations made for domestic and stock access licences must not, in any water year, exceed 100% of the share components.

60 Available water determinations for local water utility access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for local water utility access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  At the commencement of each water year in which this Plan has effect, an available water determination of 100% of the access licence share component should be made for local water utility access licences if water is available.

(3)  If the available water determination made at the commencement of the water year under subclause (2) is less than 100% then further available water determinations may be made for local water utility access licences when water becomes available.

(4)  The sum of available water determinations made for local water utility access licences must not, in any water year, exceed 100% of the share components.

61 Available water determinations for regulated river (high security) access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for regulated river (high security) access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  At the commencement of each water year in which this Plan has effect, an available water determination of 100% of the access licence share component should be made, if water is available, for the following subcategories of regulated river (high security) access licences:

(a)  Aboriginal cultural,

(b)  Community and education,

(c)  Environmental,

(d)  Research,

(e)  Town water supply.

(3)  At the commencement of each water year in which this Plan has effect, an available water determination for regulated river (high security) access licences of categories other than those listed in subclause (2) will be the greater of:

(a)  0.95 ML/unit of share component,

(b)  0.01 ML/unit of share component more than the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences is less than 1 ML/unit of share component, or

(c)  1 ML/unit of share component when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences is 1 ML/unit of share component.

(4)  If the available water determination resulting from subclauses (2) and (3) are less than 1 ML/unit of share component, then further available water determinations must be made, at least monthly, if water can be provided to them

(5)  The additional available water determinations made under subclause (4) for regulated river (high security) access licences of categories other than those listed in subclause (2) will provide additional water allocations such that the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (high security) access licences of categories other than those listed in subclause (2), for the water year is the greater of:

(a)  0.95 ML/unit of share component,

(b)  0.01 ML/unit of share component more than the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences is less than 1 ML/unit share of share component, or

(c)  1 ML/unit of share component when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences is 1 ML/unit of share component.

(6)  The available water determinations made under subclauses (2)–(5) should not be made until water becomes available after making provisions for the following:

(a)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the planned environmental water rules established in clause 16 (1) (a) (ii)–(iv),

(b)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the requirements for domestic and stock rights,

(c)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the requirements for native title rights,

(d)  the sum of available water determinations in that water year for domestic and stock access licences is 100% of the access licence share component,

(e)  the sum of available water determinations in that water year for local water utility access licences is 100% of the access licence share component,

(f)  the sum of available water determinations in that water year for subcategories listed in subclause (2) is 100% of the access licence share component,

(g)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet water allocations already in the regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation accounts,

(h)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the water losses associated with the holding and delivery of water to meet requirements specified in paragraphs (a)–(g),

(i)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet water losses associated with the holding and delivery of water resulting from available water determination for regulated river (high security) access licences.

(7)  The sum of available water determinations made for regulated river (high security) access licences, must not, in any water year exceed 1 ML/unit of share component.

62 Available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences and regulated river (conveyance) access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences and regulated river (conveyance) access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  Available water determinations may be made for regulated river (general security) access licences and regulated river (conveyance) access licences when water becomes available after making provision for the following:

(a)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the planned environmental water rules established in clause 16 (1) (a) (ii)–(iv),

(b)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the requirements for domestic and stock rights,

(c)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the requirements for native title rights,

(d)  the sum of available water determinations in that water year for domestic and stock access licences is 100% of the access licence share component,

(e)  the sum of available water determinations in that water year for local water utility access licences is 100% of the access licence share component,

(f)  the sum of available water determinations in that water year for subcategories of regulated river (high security) access licences listed in clause 61 (2) is 100% of the access licence share component,

(g)  the sum of available water determinations in that water year for regulated river (high security) access licences, of categories other than those listed in clause 61 (2), is 0.95 ML/unit of share component,

(h)  sufficient water has been set aside to for Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences in accordance with clause 63,

(i)  sufficient water has been set aside to for Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences in accordance with clause 64,

(j)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet the water allocations already in regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation accounts,

(k)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet water losses associated with the holding and delivery of water to meet the requirements specified in paragraphs (a)–(k),

(l)  sufficient water has been set aside to meet water losses associated with the holding and delivery of water resulting from the available water determination for regulated river (general security) access licences.

(3)  If the available water determination resulting from subclause (2) is less than 1 ML/unit of share component, or such lower amount as results from clause 56, then assessments of available water must be made at least monthly and further available water determinations made, if additional water can be provided.

(4)  The sum of available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences in any water year must not exceed 1 ML/unit of share component, or such lower amount as results from clause 56.

(5)  The sum of available water determinations made for regulated river (conveyance) access licences in any water year must not exceed 1 ML/unit of share component, or such lower amount as results from clause 56.

63 Available water determinations for Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  Available water determinations for Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence should be made at the commencement of each water year and as required during the water year to provide a total volume of water for those access licences that is equal to:

(a)  98,000 ML, of which 80,000 ML is available for delivery prior to the end of February in any water year, and

(b)  243,000 ML when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences for that water year is greater than 0.6 ML/unit share, and

(c)  a further 550 ML per 0.01 ML/unit of share component of available water determinations made for regulated river (high security) access licences in that water year, when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (high security) access licences for the water year is less than or equal to 0.95 ML/unit of share component, and

(d)  a further 550 ML per 0.01 ML/unit share of total available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences in that water year when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences is less than 0.2 ML/unit of share component, and

(e)  a further 1,650 ML per 0.01 ML/unit of share component of total available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences in that water year when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences for that water year is greater than 0.2 ML/unit of share component but less than or equal to 0.5 ML/unit of share component, and

(f)  a further 3,200 ML per 0.1 ML/unit of share component of total available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences in that water year when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences for the water year is greater than 0.5 ML/unit share but less than or equal to 0.6 ML/unit of share component,

provided that the sum of available water determinations made for Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences in any water year must not exceed a volume equivalent to 1 ML/unit of share component of Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence.

Note—

The effect of this clause is that incremental available water determinations may be made over the course of a water year for Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences depending on the amount of water available and the available water determinations made for other access licences, subject to a limit that is equal to a volume equivalent to 1 ML/unit of share component of Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence.

64 Available water determinations for Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  Available water determinations for Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licence should be made at the commencement of each water year and as required during the water year to provide a total volume of water to licences in this category during the water year that is equal to:

(a)  111,600 ML when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences for the water year is less than or equal to 0.35 ML/unit of share component, and

(b)  111,600 ML plus 760 ML for each 0.01 ML/unit share of available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences in the water year when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences for that water year is greater than 0.35 ML/unit of share component but less than or equal to 0.4 ML/unit of share component, and

(c)  115,400 ML plus 243.3 ML for each 0.01 ML/unit share of available water determinations made for regulated river (general security) access licences in the water year when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences is greater than 0.4 ML/unit of share component but less than 1 ML/unit of share component, and

(d)  130,000 ML when the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences for the water year is equal to 1 ML/unit of share component.

(3)  The sum of available water determinations made for Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences in any water year must not exceed a volume equivalent to 1 ML/unit share of Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licence.

65 Available water determinations for supplementary water access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for supplementary water access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  At the commencement of each water year, an available water determination of 1 ML/unit of share component, or such lower amount that is determined under Division 1 of this Part, should be made for supplementary water access licences.

Note—

Division 1 of this Part provides for available water determinations for supplementary water access licences to be reduced where the long-term average annual extraction limit for Murrumbidgee extractions has been assessed to have been exceeded, as per clause 56.

(3)  Available water determinations should not be made for supplementary water access licences other than that made under subclause (2).

66 Available water determinations for supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences

(1)  In making available water determinations for supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences, the Minister should consider the rules in this clause.

(2)  At the commencement of each water year, an available water determination of 1 ML/unit of share component or such lower amount that is determined under Division 1 of this Part, should be made for supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences.

Note—

Division 1 of this Part provides for available water determinations for supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences to be reduced where the long-term average annual extraction limit for Lowbidgee exactions has been assessed to have been exceeded, as per clause 57.

cl 66: Am 2016 No 55, Sch 3.48 [3].

Part 8 Rules for granting access licences

Notes—

1 This Part is made in accordance with sections 20, 61 and 63 of the Act.

2 Access licences granted in this water source will be subject to mandatory conditions and may be subject discretionary conditions.

67 Specific purpose access licences

Note—

Section 61 of the Act allows for the granting of specific purpose access licences under the regulations and the relevant water sharing plan. Only those specific purpose access licences listed in clause 10 of the Water Management (General) Regulation 2011 can be granted under the regulations. The licences that may be applied for under subclause (2) are in addition to applications for the categories and subcategories of specific purpose access licences that may be made in accordance with clause 10 of the Water Management (General) Regulation 2011. The restrictions in subclause (3) apply to the granting of specific purpose access licences.

(1)  A specific purpose access licence must not be granted in this water source unless the Minister is satisfied that the share and extraction component of the access licence is the minimum required to meet the circumstances in which the access licence is proposed to be used.

(2)  Applications may be made for an access licence which will receive water allocations that reflect the volume of water saved as a result of words or other actions taken under the Snowy Water Inquiry Outcomes Implementation Deed.

(3)  Applications may not be made for access licences of the subcategory “Aboriginal cultural” if it would cause the sum of access licence share components of all high security (Aboriginal cultural) access licences in this water source to exceed 2,150 ML/year.

(4)  An access licence of the subcategory “Aboriginal cultural” may only be granted for the taking of water by an Aboriginal person or Aboriginal community for any personal, domestic or communal purpose, including drinking, food preparation, washing, manufacturing traditional artefacts, watering domestic gardens, cultural teaching, hunting, fishing, gathering and for recreational, cultural and ceremonial purposes.

Note—

Aboriginal person is defined in the Dictionary.

Part 9 Rules for managing access licences

Note—

Part 12 allows for amendments to be made to this Part.

Division 1 Water allocation account management rules

Note—

The Act provides for the keeping of water allocation accounts for access licences. The rules in this Part impose further restrictions on the volume of water that may be taken under an access licence over a specified period of time. These restrictions are in addition to any other limits on access licences for the taking of water. It is an offence under the Act to take water under an access licence for which there is no or insufficient water allocation.

68 Individual access licence account management rules

(1)  The rules in this clause apply to the taking of water under an access licence with a share component that specifies this water source.

(2)  Subject to subclause (3), the water allocation taken under a domestic and stock access licence, local water utility access licence, regulated river (high security) access licence, regulated river (general security) access licence, Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence, Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licence and regulated river (conveyance) access licence will be assessed and debited as the volume extracted by the approved water supply works nominated by the access licence.

(3)  Upon written notice from the Minister to the licence holder, the water allocation taken under a domestic and stock access licence, local water utility access licence, regulated river (high security) access licence, regulated river (general security) access licence, Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence, Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licence and regulated river (conveyance) access licence must be assessed and debited as the greater of:

(a)  the volume of water extracted by the approved water supply works nominated by the access licence, or

(b)  the volume of water ordered for extraction by the approved water supply works nominated by the access licence,

for the term specified by the Minister.

(4)  The Minister should only take action under subclause (3) in accordance with the procedures specified in a water order debiting protocol approved by the Minister.

Note—

It is intended that the Minister may take action under subclause (3) where water orders have been exceeding the volume of water being taken under an access licence and this cannot be explained by rainfall or other unavoidable factors.

(5)  The water allocation taken from the water allocation accounts of supplementary water access licences and supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences will be assessed and debited as the volume of water extracted in accordance with announcements and access licence conditions by the approved works nominated by the access licences.

(6)  The maximum water allocation that can be carried over from one water year to the next in the water allocation accounts of regulated river (general security) access licences, Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences, Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences and regulated river (conveyance) access licences is equal to 0.3 ML/unit share of the access licence share component.

(7)  The maximum volume of water allocation that may be credited to a regulated river (general security) access licence from available water determinations during a water year will be the equivalent to the maximum sum of available water determinations permitted under clause 62 (4) multiplied by the number of unit shares specified in the share component, minus the volume of water that was carried over in the account from the previous water year.

(8)  The maximum volume of water allocation that may be credited to a Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence, a regulated river (conveyance) access licence and a Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licence from available water determinations during a water year will be the equivalent to the maximum sum of available water determinations permitted under clauses 62 (5), 63 and 64 respectively, multiplied by the number of unit shares specified in the share component, minus the volume of water that was carried over in the account from the previous water year.

(9)  Water allocations remaining in the water allocation accounts of domestic and stock access licences, local water utility access licences, regulated river (high security) access licences, supplementary water access licences and supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences cannot be carried over from one water year to the next.

Division 2 Access to supplementary water and taking water without debit rules

69 Taking of water under supplementary water access licences and supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences

(1)  The taking of water under supplementary water access licences or supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences will only be permitted in accordance with announcements made by the Minister, in accordance with the rules in this Plan.

(2)  The maximum volume that may be taken under supplementary water access licences during each period of time to which an announcement applies may be expressed as a number of ML per unit share.

(3)  The taking of water under supplementary water access licences and supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences should, as far as possible, be managed to evenly share access opportunity between all supplementary water access licence holders and supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence holders permitted to access that event in accordance with the rules in this clause.

(4)  The taking of water under supplementary water access licences will only be permitted once flows are in excess of those required:

(a)  under the environmental water provisions specified clause 16 (1) (a), and

(b)  to supply domestic and stock rights and native title rights requirements, and

(c)  to supply access licences of categories other than supplementary water or supplementary water (Lowbidgee), and

(d)  to satisfy requirements in the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source, as specified in subclause (5).

(5)  When the sum of available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences in this water source have exceeded 0.7 ML per unit share and the sum of water allocations from available water determinations for regulated river (general security) access licences in the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source (as described in clause 4 of the Water Sharing Plan for the New South Wales Murray and Lower Darling Regulated Rivers Water Sources 2016) plus water carried over from the previous water year, is less than 0.6 ML multiplied by the total number of unit shares specified in share components of regulated river (general security) access licences in the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source then only those flows that cannot be re-regulated in the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source may be made available for extraction by supplementary water access licence holders in this water source.

(6)  The taking of water under supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences will only be permitted while flows are in excess of those required:

(a)  under the environmental water provisions specified in Divisions 1 and 2 of Part 6 of this Plan, and

(b)  to supply domestic and stock rights and native title rights requirements, and

(c)  to supply access licences of categories other than supplementary water or supplementary water (Lowbidgee).

(7)  The taking of water under supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences will not be permitted when:

(a)  the sum of available water determinations to regulated river (general security) access licences in the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source plus water carried over from the previous water year, is less than 0.6 ML multiplied by the total number of unit shares specified in share components of regulated river (general security) access licences in the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source, and

(b)  those flows that are in excess of those required under subclause (6) can be re-regulated in the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source and be made available for extraction by regulated river (general security) access licences in that water source.

(8)  Water taken under supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences must be distributed in accordance with any distribution rules established by the Minister under clause 70.

cl 69: Am 2017 (684), Sch 1 [1].

70 Distribution rules for the Lowbidgee area

(1)  The Minister may establish rules for the distribution of water taken under supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences in the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map.

(2)  Where the Minister has established rules under subclause (1), the Minister may amend, revoke or replace these rules whenever the Minister determines it is necessary to do so.

(3)  In developing distribution rules under subclause (1), the Minister is to consider:

(a)  providing rules for the orderly, efficient and equitable sharing of water, and

(b)  historical rules for water distribution, and

(c)  infrastructure capacity constraints, and

(d)  the protection, restoration and rehabilitation of floodplains and their dependent ecosystems (including groundwater and wetlands), and

(e)  any other matters the Minister considers relevant.

(4)  Water supply works that take and distribute water under supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map must have mandatory conditions to provide that water must only be taken and distributed through those water supply works in accordance with the distribution rules established under subclause (1).

(5)  Water must only be taken and distributed through water supply works in the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map in accordance with the distribution rules established under subclause (1). This subclause only applies to the taking and distribution of water under supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences.

(6)  Subclause (5) does not apply to water supply works used solely to take water for basic landholder rights.

71 Taking of water without debit under regulated river (general security) access licences

(1)  Whenever the effective available water for regulated river (general security) access licences in a water year is less than or equal to 0.7 ML/unit of share component and access to supplementary water access licences is permitted under clause 69, then water may be extracted without debit to regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation accounts until the total amount extracted without debit to the water allocation account is the equivalent of 0.85 ML/unit of share component minus the effective available water for that water year.

(2)  If at any time during the water year:

(a)  the effective available water for regulated river (general security) access licences for that water year is less than 0.85 ML/unit of share component, and

(b)  the effective available water for regulated river (general security) access licences for that water year and the total volume of extractions taken under this subclause exceed 0.85 ML/unit of share component,

then a volume of water that is equal to the volume of exceedence minus the volume of any previous debits made under this subclause must be withdrawn from the regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation account, and if at any time during the water year, the effective available water for regulated river (general security) access licences for that water year increases to greater than 0.85 ML/unit of share component, then a volume of water equal to the volume that has been taken under this subclause less the volume of any previous debits made under this subclause must be withdrawn from the regulated river (general security) water allocation account.

Note—

Effective available water is defined in the Dictionary.

Part 10 Access licence dealing rules

72 General

(1)  The access licence dealing rules established in this Part apply to all access licence dealings in this water source.

(2)  This Plan establishes the Yanco System. The rivers that form part of the Yanco System are listed in Schedule 4 of this Plan.

(3)  For the purposes of this Part:

(a)  a supplementary water access zone is specified in accordance with procedures established by the Minister, and

(b)  the Yanco dealing limit is the sum of share components of all access licences, excluding supplementary water access licences, that nominated a water supply work located in the Yanco System as at 1 July 2011, minus:

(i)  the sum of share components of all access licences, excluding supplementary water access licences, that were acquired by Water for Rivers prior to 1 July 2011 and that nominated a water supply work located in the Yanco System as at 1 July 2011, and

(ii)  the sum of share components of all access licences, excluding supplementary water access licences, that were acquired by Water for Rivers on or after 1 July 2011 and that nominate a water supply work located in the Yanco System.

Notes—

1 Access licence dealings in this water source are subject to the provisions of the Act, the regulations, the access licence dealing principles and the access licence dealing rules established under this Part.

2 The access licence dealing principles prevail over the access licence dealing rules in this Plan to the extent of any inconsistency, as provided under section 71Z (3) of the Act.

3 Water for Rivers was a joint government enterprise established to develop water efficiency projects and other measures to recover water for environmental releases in the Snowy, Snowy Montane and Murray Rivers.

73 Conversion of access licence to new category

Dealings under section 71O of the Act are prohibited in this water source.

74 Assignment of rights dealings

(1)  Dealings under section 71Q of the Act within this water source are prohibited if the dealing involves an assignment of rights:

(a)  from an access licence that does not nominate a water supply work located in the Yanco System to an access licence that nominates a water supply work located in the Yanco System, if the dealing would cause the sum of share components of all access licences, excluding supplementary water access licences, that are not held by Water for Rivers and that nominate a water supply work in the Yanco System to exceed the Yanco dealing limit, or

(b)  from an access licence that does not nominate a water supply work located in one supplementary water access zone, where the Minister has established supplementary water access zones, to another supplementary water access zone, unless the water access licence assigning the rights are within 5 kilometres of a supplementary water access zone boundary and the change of location is across that boundary.

(2)  Dealings under section 71Q of the Act from this water source to another water source within the same water management area are prohibited unless:

(a)  the access licence dealing rules in the water source to which rights are being assigned permit such a dealing, and

(b)  a conversion factor is established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act that protects environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and the reliability of supply to all other access licences in the water source to which rights are being assigned, has been applied, and

(c)  the water source to which rights are being assigned is a water source within the Unregulated Murrumbidgee Below Burrinjuck Dam to Gogeldrie Extraction Management Unit, as defined in the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources 2012.

(3)  Dealings under section 71Q of the Act to this water source from another water source within the same water management area are prohibited unless:

(a)  the access licence dealing rules in the water sources from which rights are being assigned permit such a dealing, and

(b)  a conversion factor is established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act that protects environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and the reliability of supply to all other access licences in this water source has been applied, and

(c)  the water source from which rights are being assigned is the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source or the Lower Darling Water Source.

(4)  Dealings under section 71Q of the Act are prohibited if the dealing involves a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence.

75 Amendment of share component dealings (change of water source)

(1)  Dealings under section 71R of the Act from this water source are prohibited if the dealing involves the cancellation of an access licence in this water source, unless:

(a)  the access licence dealing rules in the water source in which the access licence is to be granted permit such a dealing, and

(b)  a conversion factor, established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act that protects environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and the reliability of supply to all other access licences in the water source in which the access licence is being cancelled, has been applied, and

(c)  the share component of the access licence to be granted specifies one of the following water sources:

(i)  a water source within the Unregulated Murrumbidgee Below Burrinjuck Dam to Gogeldrie Extraction Management Unit, as defined in the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources 2012, or

(ii)  the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source, or

(iii)  the Lower Darling Water Source.

(2)  Dealings under section 71R of the Act to this water source are prohibited if the dealing involves the granting of an access licence in this water source, unless:

(a)  the access licence dealing rules in the water source in which the access licence is cancelled permit such a dealing, and

(b)  a conversion factor, established by the Minister and published in an Order made under section 71Z of the Act that protects environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and the reliability of supply to all other access licences in the water source in which the access licence is being issued, has been applied, and

(c)  the water source in which the access licence is cancelled is one of the following:

(i)  the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source, or

(ii)  the Lower Darling Water Source.

(3)  Dealings under section 71R of the Act are prohibited if the dealing involves a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence.

Note—

The prohibitions in this clause on dealings under section 71R of the Act for supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences are consistent with the rules for dealings under section 71R for supplementary water access licences. Dealings under section 71R are prohibited for supplementary water access licences under clause 15 (2) (e) of the Access Licence Dealing Principles Order 2004.

cl 75: Am 2016 No 55, Sch 3.48 [4].

76 Assignment of water allocation dealings

(1)  Dealings under section 71T of the Act within the same water source are prohibited in this water source if the dealing involves an assignment of water allocations dealings from:

(a)  a regulated river (high security) access licence or a regulated river (general security) access licence if the application for the dealing is received after 31 May, or

(b)  a supplementary water access licence to an access licence of another category, or

(c)  an access licence of another category to a supplementary water access licence, or

(d)  a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence to an access licence of another category, or

(e)  an access licence of another category to a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence.

Note—

The prohibition in paragraphs (d) and (e) on dealings under section 71T of the Act for supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences is consistent with the rules for assignments under section 71T for supplementary water access licences. Assignments of water allocations from a supplementary water access licence to a licence of another category are prohibited under clause 17 (2) (f) of the Access Licence Dealing Principles Order 2004.

(2)  Subject to subclause (3), dealings under section 71T of the Act within the same water source are prohibited in this water source if the dealing results in a change of location that does not specify the same supplementary water access zone, where the Minister has established supplementary water access zones.

(3)  Subclause (2) does not apply if the water supply work nominated by the supplementary water access licence assigning the rights are within 5 kilometres of a supplementary water access zone boundary and the change of location is across that boundary.

(4)  Subject to subclause (6), a dealing under section 71T of the Act is prohibited if the dealing would result in a water allocation assignment from an access licence in this water source to an access licence in another water source, unless the water source is:

(a)  the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source, or

(b)  the Lower Darling Water Source, or

(c)  within the catchment of the Snowy River.

Note—

For operational reasons, allocations may only be assigned from this water source to the Murray system and Lower Darling system if the assignment will not result in the obligation on this water source to supply additional future flows to the Murray increasing to more than 100,000 ML.

(5)  Subject to subclause (6), a dealing under section 71T of the Act is prohibited if it would result in a water allocation assignment to an access licence in this water source from an access licence in another water source, unless the other water source is:

(a)  the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source, or

(b)  the Lower Darling Water Source.

(6)  Dealings under subclauses (4) and (5) are prohibited if:

(a)  in the Minister’s opinion, the supply of the volume of the water allocation to the receiving access licences is not physically possible, or

(b)  in the Minister’s opinion, the proposed dealing involves the New South Wales Murray Regulated River Water Source or the Lower Darling Water Source, and there is more than minimal likelihood that environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and the reliability of supply to all access licences in this water source will be effected, or

(c)    (Repealed)

cl 76: Am 2018 (372), Sch 1 [1].

77 Interstate access licence transfer and assignment of water allocation

(1)  Dealings under section 71U of the Act involving the interstate transfer of access licences to this water source are prohibited unless:

(a)  administrative arrangements have been agreed to and put in place by the States, and the interstate access licence transfer is made in accordance with these arrangements, and

(b)  a conversion factor is applied to the share component of the new access licence that has been established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act and other measures necessary to protect the reliability of supply to remaining regulated river (general security) access licence holders in this water source has been applied, and

(c)  the access licence will not nominate a water supply work located on Maude weir pool or Redbank weir pool, used to supply water to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map.

(2)  Dealings under section 71U of the Act involving the interstate transfer of access licences from this water source are prohibited unless:

(a)  administrative arrangements have been agreed to and put in place by the States, and the interstate access licence transfer is made in accordance with these arrangements, and

(b)  a conversion factor is applied to the share component of the new access licence that has been established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act and other measures necessary to protect environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and the reliability of supply to all other access licences in this water source has been applied, and

(c)  the access licence is not a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence.

(3)  Subject to subclauses (4) and (5), dealings under section 71V of the Act involving the interstate assignment of water allocations to or from access licences in these water sources are prohibited unless:

(a)  administrative arrangements have been agreed to and put in place by the States, and the interstate access licence transfer is made in accordance with these arrangements, and

(b)  a conversion factor is applied to the assigned water allocation that has been established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act and any other measures necessary to protect environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and reliability of supply to all access licences in this water source have been applied, and

(c)  the application for assignment of water allocation is received by 30 April in any water year.

(4)  A dealing under subclause (3) is prohibited if:

(a)  the dealing involves an assignment of allocations to or from a water supply work in Maude weir pool or Redbank weir pool that is used to supply water to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map, or

(b)  the dealing involves an assignment of allocations to or from a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence.

(5)  A dealing under subclause (3) is prohibited, if in the Minister’s opinion:

(a)  there is more than minimal likelihood that environmental water, domestic and stock rights, native title rights and the reliability of supply to all access licences in this water source will be affected, or

(b)  the supply of the volume of water arising from the assignment is not physically possible.

78 Nomination of water supply works dealings

(1)  Dealings under section 71W of the Act are prohibited if the dealing involves:

(a)  a supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence being amended to nominate a water supply work that is not used to supply water to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map, or

(b)  an access licence being amended to nominate a water supply work located in the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map, or

(c)  an access licence that does not nominate a water supply work located in the Yanco System in this water source being amended to nominate a water supply work located in the Yanco System in this water source, if it would cause the sum of the share components of all access licences, excluding supplementary water access licences, that are not held by Water for Rivers and that nominate a water supply work located in the Yanco System, to exceed the Yanco dealing limit, or

(d)  an access licence that does not nominate a water supply work located in Maude weir pool or Redbank weir pool that is used to supply water to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map being amended to nominate water supply work located in Maude weir pool or Redbank weir pool that is used to supply water to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map, where that access licence has been granted as a result of a dealing under section 71U of the Act.

Note—

The above dealing rules do not prevent access licences, other than access licences that are granted as part of an interstate dealing, from nominating a water supply work located in Maude or Redbank weir pools that is used to supply water to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map. Those water supply works are not located within the Lowbidgee area.

(2)  Subject to subclause (3), dealings under section 71W of the Act are prohibited if the dealing involves a supplementary water access licence being amended to nominate a water supply work that is not located within the same supplementary water access zone, where supplementary water access zones are specified in accordance with procedures established by the Minister.

(3)  Subclause (2) will not apply if the work to be nominated by the supplementary water access licence as a result of the dealing is within 5 kilometres of a supplementary water access zone boundary and the change of location is across that boundary.

(4)  Dealings under section 71W of the Act that involve the nomination of a water supply work located in a State other than NSW, by an access licence in this water source, are subject to:

(a)  the terms of any relevant interstate agreement, and

(b)  the application of a conversion factor established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act.

(5)  Dealings under section 71W of the Act that involve the nomination of a water supply work in this water source, by an access licence from a State other than NSW, are subject to:

(a)  the terms of any relevant interstate agreement, and

(b)  the application of a conversion factor established by the Minister and published in an order made under section 71Z of the Act, and

(c)  the access licence will not nominate a water supply work located on in Maude weir pool or Redbank weir pool, that is used to supply water to the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map.

Part 11 Mandatory conditions

Note—

Part 12 allows for amendments to be made to this Part.

Division 1 General

79 General

In this Part:

(a)  a requirement to notify the Minister in writing will only be satisfied by writing to the address listed in Appendix 4 of this Plan or to the email address for the Department’s Advisory Service, Water Regulation, and

Note—

At the commencement of this Plan, the email address for the Department’s Advisory Service, Water Regulation is [e-mail].

(b)  a metered water supply work with a data logger means a water supply work with:

(i)  a meter that complies with Australian Standard AS 4747, Meters for non-urban water supply, as may be updated or replaced from time to time, and

(ii)  a data logger, and

(c)  if the holder of a water supply work approval is the same as the holder of the access licence under which water is proposed to be taken, then it is not necessary to maintain two separate Logbooks and all the required information can be kept in one Logbook.

Note—

Logbook is defined in the Dictionary.

Division 2 Access licences

Note—

This Division is made in accordance with sections 17 (c), 20 and 66 of the Act.

80 General

(1)  Access licences in this water source must have mandatory conditions where required to give effect to the following:

(a)  the relevant water allocation account management rules specified in Division 1 of Part 9 of this Plan,

(b)  the relevant access rules in Division 2 of Part 9 of this Plan,

(c)  the holder of the access licence upon becoming aware of a breach of any condition of the access licence must:

(i)  notify the Minister as soon as practicable, and

(ii)  if the notification under subparagraph (i) was not in writing, confirm this notification in writing within 7 days of becoming aware of the breach,

(d)  a mandatory condition that facilitates the provisions of clause 45,

(e)  if the notification under subparagraph (i) was not in writing, any other condition required to implement the provisions of this Plan.

(2)  Access licences in this water source, excluding access licences that nominate only metered water supply works with a data logger, must have mandatory conditions where required to give effect to the following requirements:

(a)  that the holder of the access licence must keep a Logbook,

(b)  that the holder of the access licence must record the following in the Logbook:

(i)  each date and period of time during which water was taken under the access licence,

(ii)  the volume of water taken on that date,

(iii)  the water supply work approval number of the water supply work used to take the water on that date,

(iv)  the purpose or purposes for which the water was taken on that date,

(v)  any other information required to be recorded in the Logbook under the rules of this Plan,

(c)  that the holder of the access licence must produce the Logbook to the Minister for inspection, when requested,

(d)  that the holder of the access licence must retain the information required to be recorded in the Logbook for five years from the date to which that information relates.

(3)  The Minister may require the holder of the access licence that nominates only a metered water supply work with a data logger to keep a Logbook in accordance with any requirements of subclause (2).

(4)  All access licences, except supplementary water access licences and supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences, must have a mandatory condition that only allows the taking of water if it has been ordered in accordance with procedures established by the Minister.

(5)  All regulated river (general security) access licences, regulated river (high security) access licences, Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licences, Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licences and regulated river (conveyance) access licences must have mandatory conditions to give effect to the provisions in clauses 68 and 71.

(6)  All supplementary water access licences and supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences must have mandatory conditions that only allow the taking of water in accordance with announcements, as specified in clause 69, and after satisfying any procedures established by the Minister.

Division 3 Water supply work approvals

81 General

(1)  Water supply work approvals for water supply works in this water source must have mandatory conditions where required to give effect to the following:

(a)  water supply work must not be used to take water under an access licence unless in compliance with the relevant access rules for the taking of water as specified in Part 9 of this Plan,

(b)  unless exempted by the Minister by notice in writing, the approval holder must have metering equipment installed that meets the following requirements:

(i)  the metering equipment must accurately measure and record the flow of all water taken through the water supply work,

(ii)  the metering equipment must comply with Australian Standard AS 4747, Meters for non-urban water supply, as may be updated or replaced from time to time,

(iii)  the metering equipment must be operated and maintained in a proper and efficient manner at all times,

(iv)  the metering equipment must be sited and installed at a place in the pipe, channel or conduit between the water source and the first discharge outlet. There must be no flow of water out of the pipe, channel or conduit between the water source and the metering equipment,

(v)  any other requirements as to type, standard or other criteria for the metering equipment specified in the notice,

Note—

The Minister may also direct a landholder or person to install, replace or properly maintain metering equipment under section 326 of the Act.

(c)  the approval holder must ensure that, if the water supply work is abandoned or replaced, it is decommissioned in accordance with any direction from the Minister. The Minister may direct that any such water supply work need not be decommissioned,

(d)  within sixty days of the decommissioning of the water supply work, the approval holder must notify the Minister in writing that the water supply work has been decommissioned,

(e)  the holder of the water supply work approval. upon becoming aware of a breach of any condition of the approval must:

(i)  notify the Minister as soon as practicable, and

(ii)  if the notification under subparagraph (i) was not in writing, confirm this notification in writing within 7 days of becoming aware of the breach,

(f)  any other conditions required to implement the provisions of this Plan.

(2)  Water supply work approvals for water supply works in this water source, excluding a water supply work that is a metered water supply work with a data logger or is used for the purpose of taking water under basic landholder rights only, must have mandatory conditions where required to give effect to the following requirements:

(a)  that the holder of a water supply work approval must keep a Logbook,

(b)  that the holder of a water supply work approval must record the following in the Logbook:

(i)  each date and period of time during which water was taken using the water supply work,

(ii)  the volume of water taken on that date,

(iii)  the number of the access licence under which water was taken on that date, or, if water was taken under some other authority (such as basic landholder rights), the authority under which water was taken,

(iv)  the purpose or purposes for which the water was taken on that date,

(v)  details of any cropping carried out using the water taken through the water supply work including the type of crop, area cropped and dates of planting and harvesting,

(vi)  where metering equipment has been installed for use in connection with the water supply work, the meter reading before water is taken,

(vii)  where metering equipment has not been installed for use in connection with the water supply work, details of all pumping activities for the water supply work including pump running hours, pump power usage or pump fuel usage, pump start and stop times and pump capacity per unit of time,

(viii)  any other information required to be recorded in the Logbook under the rules of this Plan,

(c)  that the holder of the water supply work approval must produce the Logbook to the Minister for inspection when requested,

(d)  that the holder of a water supply work approval must retain the information required to be recorded in the Logbook for five years from the date to which that information relates.

(3)  The Minister may require the holder of a water supply work approval for a metered water supply work with a data logger to keep a Logbook in accordance with any requirements of subclause (2).

(4)  Subclauses (1)–(3) do not apply to a water supply work approval for water supply works held by Water NSW.

(5)  Water supply work approvals held by Water NSW must have mandatory conditions where required to give effect to the system operation rules in Part 6 of this Plan.

Part 12 Amendment of this Plan

82 General

(1)  Amendments specified throughout this Plan and in this Part are amendments authorised by this Plan.

(2)  An amendment authorised by this Plan is taken to include any consequential amendments required to be made to this Plan to give effect to that particular amendment.

Note—

For example, if Part 1 is amended to add a new management zone, this may require amendments to other parts of this Plan to include rules for that management zone.

(3)  An amendment authorised by this Plan which results in a variation of the bulk access regime is an amendment authorised by this Plan for the purposes of section 87AA of the Act.

83 Part 1

Part 1 may be amended to add a river or section of a river to this water source or remove a river or section of a river from this water source providing that:

(a)  any river or section of river that is added has been declared to be a regulated river by an order published in the Gazette, and

(b)  the Minister is satisfied that there will be no impact on environmental water or on the available water to any access licences in this water source.

84 Part 6

(1)  Subject to subclauses (2) and (3), Part 6 may be amended to vary the environmental flow rules and environmental water allowances rules under Division 1 and Division 2 of Part 6.

(2)  Any amendment to the clauses in Division 1 and Division 2 of Part 6 under subclause (1) must not result in a change to the long-term average annual extraction limit of this Plan of greater than 0.5% of that limit.

Note—

Any amendment to vary the environmental flow rules or environmental water allowances rules will come into effect the water year immediately following the gazettal of the amendment order, or upon gazettal if the order is made before 1 September.

85 Part 7

(1)  Following the surrender under section 77 of the Act of an access licence and then the cancellation under section 77A (6) of the Act of an access licence in this water source, the Minister may vary the respective long-term average annual extraction limit that applies to this water source.

(2)  The Minister may vary the provisions of clause 62 in respect to available water determinations for regulated river (conveyance) access licence, if the Minister considers it is necessary to do so to reflect the actual losses experienced by Water NSW.

(3)  The Minister may vary the provisions of clause 63 (2) in respect to available water determinations for Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence, if the Minister considers it is necessary to do so to reflect the actual losses experienced by Murrumbidgee Irrigation.

(4)  The Minister may vary the provisions of clause 64 (2) in respect to available water determinations for Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licence, if the Minister considers it is necessary to do so to reflect the actual losses experienced by Coleambally Irrigation.

86 Part 9

(1)  The Minister may vary the provisions of clause 68:

(a)  to increase the carryover percentage up to a maximum of 0.5 ML/unit share and/or apply different maximum carryover figures for regulated river (general security) access licence water accounts based on different zones within this water source, and

(b)  to vary the water allocation maximum carryover percentage of Murrumbidgee Irrigation (conveyance) access licence and Coleambally Irrigation (conveyance) access licence, and

(c)  to vary when water may be extracted and the total volume of water that may be extracted without debit to the water allocation account of regulated river (general security) access licences.

(2)  The Minister may vary the provisions of clause 71 (1) following an amendment to the maximum carryover percentages specified in clause 68 (6) to maintain the frequency of access to water under clause 71 (1) that existed prior to the variation.

(3)  The Minister may vary the provisions in Division 2 of Part 9 to vary the rules permitting access to flows by supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licences specified in clause 69, subject to:

(a)  a review of the environmental impact associated with the extraction of water by supplementary water access licences, and

(b)  the consideration of additional environmental considerations in clause 69 before access to flows by supplementary water access licences is permitted, and

(c)  the long-term average annual extractions by supplementary water (Lowbidgee) access licence holders not being impacted, and

(d)  the long-term average annual controlled diversions through the regulators in the Maude and Redbank weir pools into the area marked as Lowbidgee on the Plan Map not exceeding that which would have occurred under 1993/94 levels of irrigation development and management rules, and

(e)  any variation to the rules commencing operation only at the beginning of the next water year after their incorporation into this Plan.

(4)  The Minister may vary the rules permitting access to supplementary flows specified in clause 69.

87 Part 11

Part 11 may be amended to do any of the following:

(a)  amend the rules in relation to record keeping including in relation to requirements for Logbooks,

(b)  amend clause 81 to specify different standards or requirements for decommissioning water supply works or construction requirements for water supply works.

88 Dictionary

The Dictionary may be amended to add, modify or remove a definition.

89 Other

(1)  This Plan may be amended to include rules for the management of floodplain harvesting within this water source, so long as the amendment does not:

(a)  affect the outcomes of the long-term average annual extraction limit specified in the Plan, or

(b)  allow more water being taken pursuant to access licences for floodplain harvesting than permitted under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement in Schedule 1 of the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth.

(2)  Consequential amendments may be made to this Plan as a result of an amendment to the Act or regulations.

(3)  This Plan may be amended following the granting of a native title claim pursuant to the provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 of the Commonwealth to give effect to an entitlement granted under that claim.

(4)  This Plan may be amended to enable all or part of this Plan to be accredited as all or part of a water resource plan under the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth.

(5)  This Plan may be amended after Year 5 of this Plan to provide rules for the protection of water-dependent Aboriginal cultural assets to do any of the following:

(a)  identify water-dependent Aboriginal cultural assets,

(b)  restrict the granting and amending of water supply work approvals to protect water-dependent Aboriginal cultural assets,

(c)  amend the dealing rules to protect water-dependent Aboriginal cultural assets.

(6)  Any amendment under subclause (5), will take into account the socio-economic impact of the proposed change and the environmental water requirements of this water source.

(7)  Before making an amendment pursuant to subclause (5) the Minister should consult with relevant Government agencies and stakeholders.

Dictionary

Note—

Unless otherwise defined in this Plan, words and expressions that are defined in the Act or in the regulations have the same meaning in this Plan.

Aboriginal person has the same meaning as it has in the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983.

airspace is the volume in a dam which is normally kept empty for the purpose of mitigating potential floods.

effective available water is the sum of:

(a)  the available water determinations in the water year made under clause 62 (2) and (3), plus

(b)  the maximum of zero or the water carried over in regulated river (general security) access licence water allocation accounts from the previous water year less 0.15 ML per unit share.

effective storage volume is equal to the active storage volume in Burrinjuck Dam minus half the volume in regulated river (general security) access licence accounts that was carried over from the previous water year.

floodplain harvesting is the collection, extraction or impoundment of water flowing across the floodplain.

full supply volume is the storage volume considered to be the limit for the purposes of storage of water, except in periods of flood operation. This excludes any water that cannot be accessed using existing outlet infrastructure.

Logbook, in relation to an access licence or water supply work approval, means a written record, kept in hard copy or electronic form, that accurately records all information required to be kept in relation to the access licence or water supply work approval under the rules of this Plan.

natural inflows are flows entering Blowering Dam as compared to flows entering into Blowering Dam as a result of releases made from the Snowy Hydro scheme.

reserves are volumes of water put aside in a water storage to allow the supply of future water requirements.

supply capability is defined as the rate at which water that can be supplied to a section of a water source after satisfying the environmental flow rules and the requirements for water to satisfy basic landholder rights.

translucent flows are releases from water storages where some portion of the inflows to the water storage is released coincidentally with their occurrence.

transmission losses are any loss of water volume, through natural influences such as evaporation or seepage, which occurs as water travels down a river.

transparent flows are releases from water storages where all water storage inflows are released coincidentally with their occurrence.

water storage means the water body impounded by a dam, weir or other structure, which is used to regulate and manage river flows in this water source.

water supply system includes the water storages and all other factors influencing water supply that are under the control of the Minister.

water use development includes all privately owned water management structures, and all aspects of farm, industry, town or private household development which affect the volumes of water taken from the water source and the management practices that are applied to them.

Year 5 of this Plan means from the date of 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.

Schedule 1 Goodradigbee flow classification table

The following table indicates the average daily flows in the Goodradigbee River at Wee Jasper, which are to be used for the purpose of classifying the catchment condition for Burrinjuck Dam.

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Date	Upper limit of “dry conditions” flows—ML/day	Upper limit of “normal conditions” flows—ML/day
22-Apr	131	486
23-Apr	127	399
24-Apr	129	368
25-Apr	131	349
26-Apr	137	354
27-Apr	137	339
28-Apr	143	321
29-Apr	147	339
30-Apr	159	382
01-May	152	348
02-May	156	365
03-May	154	613
04-May	158	458
05-May	154	407
06-May	151	364
07-May	171	398
08-May	157	340
09-May	152	304
10-May	165	343
11-May	184	437
12-May	183	376
13-May	178	671
14-May	175	787
15-May	166	507
16-May	177	483
17-May	182	521
18-May	201	636
19-May	208	774
20-May	204	572
21-May	194	473
22-May	200	452
23-May	222	531
24-May	228	870
25-May	243	743
26-May	244	670
27-May	306	737
28-May	301	834
29-May	252	683
30-May	246	1058
31-May	314	1294
01-Jun	270	951
02-Jun	271	799
03-Jun	320	917
04-Jun	277	776
05-Jun	297	851
06-Jun	268	845
07-Jun	251	916
08-Jun	276	843
09-Jun	272	756
10-Jun	294	936
11-Jun	324	1376
12-Jun	426	1338
13-Jun	378	1070
14-Jun	338	831
15-Jun	318	772
16-Jun	311	745
17-Jun	317	804
18-Jun	315	1054
19-Jun	328	1230
20-Jun	381	987
21-Jun	358	977
22-Jun	354	1009
23-Jun	337	1036
24-Jun	361	917
25-Jun	398	1171
26-Jun	381	1354
27-Jun	375	1655
28-Jun	399	1217
29-Jun	441	1319
30-Jun	460	1593
01-Jul	422	1502
02-Jul	459	1603
03-Jul	478	1769
04-Jul	522	1982
05-Jul	502	2205
06-Jul	610	3464
07-Jul	622	2660
08-Jul	576	2453
09-Jul	554	1887
10-Jul	606	1703
11-Jul	568	1716
12-Jul	574	1699
13-Jul	521	1510
14-Jul	495	1667
15-Jul	505	1422
16-Jul	547	1415
17-Jul	599	1770
18-Jul	528	2043
19-Jul	509	2001
20-Jul	480	1604
21-Jul	499	1822
22-Jul	483	2565
23-Jul	553	2470
24-Jul	493	2883
25-Jul	596	2955
26-Jul	646	3208
27-Jul	681	2280
28-Jul	866	2118
29-Jul	883	2418
30-Jul	961	2143
31-Jul	883	2074
01-Aug	804	1871
02-Aug	766	1611
03-Aug	769	1616
04-Aug	689	1642
05-Aug	695	1662
06-Aug	927	2527
07-Aug	899	2444
08-Aug	867	2200
09-Aug	803	2067
10-Aug	792	1900
11-Aug	824	1737
12-Aug	859	1747
13-Aug	855	1951
14-Aug	836	1958
15-Aug	854	2241
16-Aug	945	2427
17-Aug	896	2206
18-Aug	932	2127
19-Aug	881	2056
20-Aug	878	1997
21-Aug	869	2675
22-Aug	835	2656
23-Aug	828	2685
24-Aug	851	2361
25-Aug	865	2229
26-Aug	899	2432
27-Aug	862	2992
28-Aug	877	2421
29-Aug	849	2203
30-Aug	907	2151
31-Aug	909	2394
01-Sep	1006	2448
02-Sep	1057	2324
03-Sep	1134	2321
04-Sep	1188	2161
05-Sep	1154	2247
06-Sep	1061	2067
07-Sep	1050	1933
08-Sep	1027	2215
09-Sep	1024	2352
10-Sep	1078	2206
11-Sep	1134	2188
12-Sep	1161	2325
13-Sep	1167	2215
14-Sep	1145	2274
15-Sep	1059	2092
16-Sep	993	1971
17-Sep	1111	2126
18-Sep	1216	2670
19-Sep	1166	2551
20-Sep	1160	2186
21-Sep	1109	2101
22-Sep	983	2081
23-Sep	917	1995
24-Sep	857	1834
25-Sep	803	2110
26-Sep	791	1926
27-Sep	759	2128
28-Sep	806	1879
29-Sep	807	1896
30-Sep	806	1701
01-Oct	747	1483
02-Oct	741	1366
03-Oct	780	1713
04-Oct	714	3234
05-Oct	706	2499
06-Oct	687	1828
07-Oct	704	1614
08-Oct	689	1445
09-Oct	701	1592
10-Oct	655	1629
11-Oct	630	1502
12-Oct	626	1365
13-Oct	636	1262
14-Oct	627	1227
15-Oct	587	1273
16-Oct	584	1287
17-Oct	602	1241
18-Oct	601	1689
19-Oct	584	1714
20-Oct	573	1676
21-Oct	565	1501

Appendix 1: Am 2000 No 92, Sch 12, Part 5 (ins 2018 No 31, Sch 1 [89]); 2016 No 55, Sch 3.48 [5].

Schedule 2 Burrinjuck Dam translucency percentage table

Date	Burrinjuck effective storage volume < 30% full supply volume of Burrinjuck			30% full supply volume of Burrinjuck < Burrinjuck effective storage volume < 50% full supply volume of Burrinjuck			Burrinjuck effective storage volume > 50% full supply volume of Burrinjuck
	Wet	Normal	Dry	Wet	Normal	Dry	Wet	Normal	Dry
22-APR	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
23-APR	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	2	0
24-APR	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	3	0
25-APR	0	4	0	0	4	0	0	4	0
26-APR	0	5	0	0	5	0	0	5	0
27-APR	0	6	0	0	6	0	0	6	0
28-APR	0	7	0	0	7	0	0	7	0
29-APR	0	8	0	0	8	0	0	8	0
30-APR	0	9	0	0	9	0	0	9	0
01-MAY	0	10	0	0	10	0	0	10	0
02-MAY	5	11	0	5	11	0	5	11	0
03-MAY	12	12	0	12	12	0	12	12	0
04-MAY	18	13	0	18	13	0	18	13	0
05-MAY	25	14	0	25	14	0	25	14	0
06-MAY	31	15	0	31	15	0	31	15	0
07-MAY	37	16	0	37	16	0	37	16	0
08-MAY	43	17	0	43	17	0	43	17	0
09-MAY	48	18	0	48	18	0	48	18	0
10-MAY	50	20	0	54	20	0	54	20	0
11-MAY	50	21	0	59	21	0	59	21	0
12-MAY	50	22	0	65	22	0	65	22	0
13-MAY	50	23	0	70	23	0	70	23	0
14-MAY	50	24	0	74	24	0	74	24	0
15-MAY	50	25	0	79	25	0	79	25	0
16-MAY	50	26	2	83	26	2	83	26	2
17-MAY	50	27	3	88	27	3	88	27	3
18-MAY	50	28	4	91	28	4	91	28	4
19-MAY	50	29	5	95	29	5	95	29	5
20-MAY	50	30	6	99	30	6	99	30	6
21-MAY	50	31	7	100	31	7	100	31	7
22-MAY	50	32	8	100	32	8	100	32	8
23-MAY	50	34	9	100	34	9	100	34	9
24-MAY	50	35	10	100	35	10	100	35	10
25-MAY	50	36	11	100	36	11	100	36	11
26-MAY	50	37	12	100	37	12	100	37	12
27-MAY	50	38	13	100	38	13	100	38	13
28-MAY	50	39	14	100	39	14	100	39	14
29-MAY	50	40	15	100	40	15	100	40	15
30-MAY	50	41	16	100	41	16	100	41	16
31-MAY	50	42	17	100	42	17	100	42	17
01-JUN	50	43	18	100	43	18	100	43	18
02-JUN	50	44	19	100	44	19	100	44	19
03-JUN	50	45	20	100	45	20	100	45	20
04-JUN	50	46	21	100	46	21	100	46	21
05-JUN	50	47	22	100	47	22	100	47	22
06-JUN	50	48	23	100	48	23	100	48	23
07-JUN	50	49	24	100	49	24	100	49	24
08-JUN	50	50	25	100	50	25	100	50	25
09-JUN	50	50	26	100	50	26	100	51	26
10-JUN	50	50	26	100	50	26	100	52	26
11-JUN	50	50	27	100	50	27	100	53	27
12-JUN	50	50	28	100	50	28	100	54	28
13-JUN	50	50	29	97	50	29	97	55	29
14-JUN	50	50	30	93	50	30	93	56	30
15-JUN	50	50	31	89	50	31	89	57	31
16-JUN	50	50	31	84	50	31	84	58	31
17-JUN	50	50	32	78	50	32	78	59	32
18-JUN	50	50	33	72	50	33	72	60	33
19-JUN	50	50	34	66	50	34	66	61	34
20-JUN	50	50	34	59	50	34	59	62	34
21-JUN	50	50	35	52	50	35	52	63	35
22-JUN	45	50	36	45	50	36	45	64	36
23-JUN	37	50	37	37	50	37	37	64	37
24-JUN	29	50	37	29	50	37	29	65	37
25-JUN	20	50	38	20	50	38	20	66	38
26-JUN	11	50	39	11	50	39	11	67	39
27-JUN	1	50	39	1	50	39	1	68	39
28-JUN	0	50	40	0	50	40	0	69	40
29-JUN	0	50	40	0	50	40	0	69	40
30-JUN	0	50	41	0	50	41	0	70	41
01-JUL	0	50	41	0	50	41	0	71	41
02-JUL	0	50	42	0	50	42	0	72	42
03-JUL	0	50	42	0	50	42	0	72	42
04-JUL	0	50	43	0	50	43	0	73	43
05-JUL	0	50	43	0	50	43	0	74	43
06-JUL	0	50	44	0	50	44	0	75	44
07-JUL	0	50	44	0	50	44	0	75	44
08-JUL	0	50	45	0	50	45	0	76	45
09-JUL	0	50	45	0	50	45	0	77	45
10-JUL	0	50	45	0	50	45	0	77	45
11-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	78	46
12-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	79	46
13-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	79	46
14-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	80	46
15-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	80	47
16-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	81	47
17-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	81	47
18-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	82	47
19-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	82	47
20-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	83	47
21-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	83	47
22-JUL	0	50	47	50	50	47	0	84	47
23-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	84	47
24-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	84	47
25-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	85	47
26-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	85	47
27-JUL	0	50	47	0	50	47	0	86	47
28-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	86	46
29-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	86	46
30-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	86	46
31-JUL	0	50	46	0	50	46	0	87	46
01-AUG	0	50	45	0	50	45	0	87	45
02-AUG	0	50	45	0	50	45	0	87	45
03-AUG	0	50	45	0	50	45	0	87	45
04-AUG	0	50	44	0	50	44	0	87	44
05-AUG	0	50	44	0	50	44	0	87	44
06-AUG	0	50	43	0	50	43	0	88	43
07-AUG	0	50	43	0	50	43	0	88	43
08-AUG	0	50	42	0	50	42	0	88	42
09-AUG	0	50	41	0	50	41	0	88	41
10-AUG	0	50	41	0	50	41	0	88	41
11-AUG	0	50	40	0	50	40	0	88	40
12-AUG	0	50	39	0	50	39	0	88	39
13-AUG	0	50	39	0	50	39	0	88	39
14-AUG	0	50	50	0	50	38	0	87	38
15-AUG	0	50	37	0	50	37	0	87	37
16-AUG	0	50	36	0	50	36	0	87	36
17-AUG	0	50	35	0	50	35	0	87	35
18-AUG	0	50	34	0	50	34	0	87	34
19-AUG	0	50	33	0	50	33	0	86	33
20-AUG	0	50	32	0	50	32	0	86	32
21-AUG	0	50	31	0	50	31	0	86	31
22-AUG	0	50	30	0	50	30	0	86	30
23-AUG	0	50	29	0	50	29	0	85	29
24-AUG	0	50	28	0	50	28	0	85	28
25-AUG	0	50	26	0	50	26	0	84	26
26-AUG	0	50	25	0	50	25	0	84	25
27-AUG	0	50	24	0	50	24	0	84	24
28-AUG	0	50	22	0	50	22	0	83	22
29-AUG	0	50	21	0	50	21	0	82	21
30-AUG	0	50	19	0	50	19	0	82	19
31-AUG	0	50	18	0	50	18	0	81	18
01-SEP	0	50	16	0	50	16	0	81	16
02-SEP	0	50	15	0	50	15	0	80	15
03-SEP	0	50	13	0	50	13	0	79	13
04-SEP	0	50	11	0	50	11	0	79	11
05-SEP	0	50	9	0	50	9	0	78	9
06-SEP	0	50	8	0	50	8	0	77	8
07-SEP	0	50	6	0	50	6	0	76	6
08-SEP	0	50	4	0	50	4	0	75	4
09-SEP	0	50	2	0	50	2	0	74	2
10-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	73	0
11-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	72	0
12-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	71	0
13-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	70	0
14-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	69	0
15-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	68	0
16-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	67	0
17-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	66	0
18-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	65	0
19-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	63	0
20-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	62	0
21-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	61	0
22-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	59	0
23-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	58	0
24-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	57	0
25-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	55	0
26-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	54	0
27-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	52	0
28-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	50	0
29-SEP	0	49	0	0	49	0	0	49	0
30-SEP	0	47	0	0	47	0	0	47	0
01-OCT	0	45	0	0	45	0	0	45	0
02-OCT	0	44	0	0	44	0	0	44	0
03-OCT	0	42	0	0	42	0	0	42	0
04-OCT	0	40	0	0	40	0	0	40	0
05-OCT	0	38	0	0	38	0	0	38	0
06-OCT	0	36	0	0	36	0	0	36	0
07-OCT	0	34	0	0	34	0	0	34	0
08-OCT	0	32	0	0	32	0	0	32	0
09-OCT	0	30	0	0	30	0	0	30	0
10-OCT	0	28	0	0	28	0	0	28	0
11-OCT	0	26	0	0	26	0	0	26	0
12-OCT	0	24	0	0	24	0	0	24	0
13-OCT	0	21	0	0	21	0	0	21	0
14-OCT	0	19	0	0	19	0	0	19	0
15-OCT	0	17	0	0	17	0	0	17	0
16-OCT	0	14	0	0	14	0	0	14	0
17-OCT	0	12	0	0	12	0	0	12	0
18-OCT	0	9	0	0	9	0	0	9	0
19-OCT	0	7	0	0	7	0	0	7	0
20-OCT	0	4	0	0	4	0	0	4	0
21-OCT	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	2	0

Schedule 3 Initial “unclipped” translucency percentage table

Date	Burrinjuck effective storage volume < 30% full supply volume of Burrinjuck			30% full supply volume of Burrinjuck < Burrinjuck effective storage volume < 50% full supply volume of Burrinjuck			Burrinjuck effective storage volume > 50% full supply volume of Burrinjuck
	Wet	Normal	Dry	Wet	Normal	Dry	Wet	Normal	Dry
22-APR	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
23-APR	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	2	0
24-APR	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	3	0
25-APR	0	4	0	0	4	0	0	4	0
26-APR	0	5	0	0	5	0	0	5	0
27-APR	0	6	0	0	6	0	0	6	0
28-APR	0	7	0	0	7	0	0	7	0
29-APR	0	8	0	0	8	0	0	8	0
30-APR	0	9	0	0	9	0	0	9	0
01-MAY	0	10	0	0	10	0	0	10	0
02-MAY	5	11	0	5	11	0	5	11	0
03-MAY	12	12	0	12	12	0	12	12	0
04-MAY	18	13	0	18	13	0	18	13	0
05-MAY	25	14	0	25	14	0	25	14	0
06-MAY	31	15	0	31	15	0	31	15	0
07-MAY	37	16	0	37	16	0	37	16	0
08-MAY	43	17	0	43	17	0	43	17	0
09-MAY	48	18	0	48	18	0	48	18	0
10-MAY	54	20	0	54	20	0	54	20	0
11-MAY	59	21	0	59	21	0	59	21	0
12-MAY	65	22	0	65	22	0	65	22	0
13-MAY	70	23	0	70	23	0	70	23	0
14-MAY	74	24	0	74	24	0	74	24	0
15-MAY	79	25	0	79	25	0	79	25	0
16-MAY	83	26	2	83	26	2	83	26	2
17-MAY	88	27	3	88	27	3	88	27	3
18-MAY	91	28	4	91	28	4	91	28	4
19-MAY	95	29	5	95	29	5	95	29	5
20-MAY	99	30	6	99	30	6	99	30	6
21-MAY	100	31	7	100	31	7	100	31	7
22-MAY	100	32	8	100	32	8	100	32	8
23-MAY	100	34	9	100	34	9	100	34	9
24-MAY	100	35	10	100	35	10	100	35	10
25-MAY	100	36	11	100	36	11	100	36	11
26-MAY	100	37	12	100	37	12	100	37	12
27-MAY	100	38	13	100	38	13	100	38	13
28-MAY	100	39	14	100	39	14	100	39	14
29-MAY	100	40	15	100	40	15	100	40	15
30-MAY	100	41	16	100	41	16	100	41	16
31-MAY	100	42	17	100	42	17	100	42	17
01-JUN	100	43	18	100	43	18	100	43	18
02-JUN	100	44	19	100	44	19	100	44	19
03-JUN	100	45	20	100	45	20	100	45	20
04-JUN	100	46	21	100	46	21	100	46	21
05-JUN	100	47	22	100	47	22	100	47	22
06-JUN	100	48	23	100	48	23	100	48	23
07-JUN	100	49	24	100	49	24	100	49	24
08-JUN	100	50	25	100	50	25	100	50	25
09-JUN	100	51	26	100	51	26	100	51	26
10-JUN	100	52	26	100	52	26	100	52	26
11-JUN	100	53	27	100	53	27	100	53	27
12-JUN	100	54	28	100	54	28	100	54	28
13-JUN	97	55	29	9755	29	97	55	55	29
14-JUN	93	56	30	93	56	30	93	56	30
15-JUN	89	57	31	89	57	31	89	57	31
16-JUN	84	58	31	84	58	31	84	58	31
17-JUN	78	59	32	78	59	32	78	59	32
18-JUN	72	60	33	72	60	33	72	60	33
19-JUN	66	61	34	66	61	34	66	61	34
20-JUN	59	62	34	59	62	34	59	62	34
21-JUN	52	63	35	52	63	35	52	63	35
22-JUN	45	64	36	45	64	36	45	64	36
23-JUN	37	64	37	37	64	37	37	64	37
24-JUN	29	65	37	29	65	37	29	65	37
25-JUN	20	66	38	20	66	38	20	66	38
26-JUN	11	67	39	11	67	39	11	67	39
27-JUN	1	68	39	1	68	39	1	68	39
28-JUN	0	69	40	0	69	40	0	69	40
29-JUN	0	69	40	0	69	40	0	69	40
30-JUN	0	70	41	0	70	41	0	70	41
01-JUL	0	71	41	0	71	41	0	71	41
02-JUL	0	72	42	0	72	42	0	72	42
03-JUL	0	72	42	0	72	42	0	72	42
04-JUL	0	73	43	0	73	43	0	73	43
05-JUL	0	74	43	0	74	43	0	74	43
06-JUL	0	75	44	0	75	44	0	75	44
07-JUL	0	75	44	0	75	44	0	75	44
08-JUL	0	76	45	0	76	45	0	76	45
09-JUL	0	77	45	0	77	45	0	77	45
10-JUL	0	77	45	0	77	45	0	77	45
11-JUL	0	78	46	0	78	46	0	78	46
12-JUL	0	79	46	0	79	46	0	79	46
13-JUL	0	79	46	0	79	46	0	79	46
14-JUL	0	80	46	0	80	46	0	80	46
15-JUL	0	80	47	0	80	47	0	80	47
16-JUL	0	81	47	0	81	47	0	81	47
17-JUL	0	81	47	0	81	47	0	81	47
18-JUL	0	82	47	0	82	47	0	82	47
19-JUL	0	82	47	0	82	47	0	82	47
20-JUL	0	83	47	0	83	47	0	83	47
21-JUL	0	83	47	0	83	47	0	83	47
22-JUL	0	84	47	0	84	47	0	84	47
23-JUL	0	84	47	0	84	47	0	84	47
24-JUL	0	84	47	0	84	47	0	84	47
25-JUL	0	85	47	0	85	47	0	85	47
26-JUL	0	85	47	0	85	47	0	85	47
27-JUL	0	86	47	0	86	47	0	86	47
28-JUL	0	86	46	0	86	46	0	86	46
29-JUL	0	86	46	0	86	46	0	86	46
30-JUL	0	86	46	0	86	46	0	86	46
31-JUL	0	87	46	0	87	46	0	87	46
01-AUG	0	87	45	0	87	45	0	87	45
02-AUG	0	87	45	0	87	45	0	87	45
03-AUG	0	87	45	0	87	45	0	87	45
04-AUG	0	87	44	0	87	44	0	87	44
05-AUG	0	87	44	0	87	44	0	87	44
06-AUG	0	88	43	0	88	43	0	88	43
07-AUG	0	88	43	0	88	43	0	88	43
08-AUG	0	88	42	0	88	42	0	88	42
09-AUG	0	88	41	0	88	41	0	88	41
10-AUG	0	88	41	0	88	41	0	88	41
11-AUG	0	88	40	0	88	40	0	88	40
12-AUG	0	88	39	0	88	39	0	88	39
13-AUG	0	88	39	0	88	39	0	88	39
14-AUG	0	87	38	0	87	38	0	87	38
15-AUG	0	87	37	0	87	37	0	87	37
16-AUG	0	87	36	0	87	36	0	87	36
17-AUG	0	87	35	0	87	35	0	87	35
18-AUG	0	87	34	0	87	34	0	87	34
19-AUG	0	86	33	0	86	33	0	86	33
20-AUG	0	86	32	0	86	32	0	86	32
21-AUG	0	86	31	0	86	31	0	86	31
22-AUG	0	86	30	0	86	30	0	86	30
23-AUG	0	85	29	0	85	29	0	85	29
24-AUG	0	85	28	0	85	28	0	85	28
25-AUG	0	84	26	0	84	26	0	84	26
26-AUG	0	84	25	0	84	25	0	84	25
27-AUG	0	84	24	0	84	24	0	84	24
28-AUG	0	83	22	0	83	22	0	83	22
29-AUG	0	82	21	0	82	21	0	82	21
30-AUG	0	82	19	0	82	19	0	82	19
31-AUG	0	81	18	0	81	18	0	81	18
01-SEP	0	81	16	0	81	16	0	81	16
02-SEP	0	80	15	0	80	15	0	80	15
03-SEP	0	79	13	0	79	13	0	79	13
04-SEP	0	79	11	0	79	11	0	79	11
05-SEP	0	78	9	0	78	9	0	78	9
06-SEP	0	77	8	0	77	8	0	77	8
07-SEP	0	76	6	0	76	6	0	76	6
08-SEP	0	75	4	0	75	4	0	75	4
09-SEP	0	74	2	0	74	2	0	74	2
10-SEP	0	73	0	0	73	0	0	73	0
11-SEP	0	72	0	0	72	0	0	72	0
12-SEP	0	71	0	0	71	0	0	71	0
13-SEP	0	70	0	0	70	0	0	70	0
14-SEP	0	69	0	0	69	0	0	69	0
15-SEP	0	68	0	0	68	0	0	68	0
16-SEP	0	67	0	0	67	0	0	67	0
17-SEP	0	66	0	0	66	0	0	66	0
18-SEP	0	65	0	0	65	0	0	65	0
19-SEP	0	63	0	0	63	0	0	63	0
20-SEP	0	62	0	0	62	0	0	62	0
21-SEP	0	61	0	0	61	0	0	61	0
22-SEP	0	59	0	0	59	0	0	59	0
23-SEP	0	58	0	0	58	0	0	58	0
24-SEP	0	57	0	0	57	0	0	57	0
25-SEP	0	55	0	0	55	0	0	55	0
26-SEP	0	54	0	0	54	0	0	54	0
27-SEP	0	52	0	0	52	0	0	52	0
28-SEP	0	50	0	0	50	0	0	50	0
29-SEP	0	49	0	0	49	0	0	49	0
30-SEP	0	47	0	0	47	0	0	47	0
01-OCT	0	45	0	0	45	0	0	45	0
02-OCT	0	44	0	0	44	0	0	44	0
03-OCT	0	42	0	0	42	0	0	42	0
04-OCT	0	40	0	0	40	0	0	40	0
05-OCT	0	38	0	0	38	0	0	38	0
06-OCT	0	36	0	0	36	0	0	36	0
07-OCT	0	34	0	0	34	0	0	34	0
08-OCT	0	32	0	0	32	0	0	32	0
09-OCT	0	30	0	0	30	0	0	30	0
10-OCT	0	28	0	0	28	0	0	28	0
11-OCT	0	26	0	0	26	0	0	26	0
12-OCT	0	24	0	0	24	0	0	24	0
13-OCT	0	21	0	0	21	0	0	21	0
14-OCT	0	19	0	0	19	0	0	19	0
15-OCT	0	17	0	0	17	0	0	17	0
16-OCT	0	14	0	0	14	0	0	14	0
17-OCT	0	12	0	0	12	0	0	12	0
18-OCT	0	9	0	0	9	0	0	9	0
19-OCT	0	7	0	0	7	0	0	7	0
20-OCT	0	4	0	0	4	0	0	4	0
21-OCT	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	2	0

Schedule 4 Yanco System

The Yanco System includes the following:

(a)  Billabong Creek from its junction with Colombo Creek to its confluence with the Edward River,

(b)  Billabong Creek upstream from its confluence with Colombo Creek to the concrete dam situated between portion 63, Parish of Cocketgedong and portion 24, Parish of Nowranie both in the County of Urana,

(c)  Colombo Creek from its offtake from Yanco Creek to its confluence with Billabong Creek,

(d)  Cuddell Creek from the intersection point of creek bank and the common boundary between portions 4 and 5, Parish of Cuddell, County of Mitchell, to its confluence with Yanco Creek,

(e)  Forest Creek from its offtake from Billabong Creek within T.S.R. 30139, Parish of Thulabin, County of Townsend downstream to Warriston Weir,

(f)  Nowranie Creek upstream from its confluence with Billabong Creek to the concrete dam situated within portion 27, Parish of Nowranie, County of Urana,

(g)  Sheepwash Creek from its confluence with Billabong Creek within portion 49, Parish of Wanganella, County of Townsend, upstream to its intersection with the eastern boundary of said portion, parish and county,

(h)  Unnamed lagoon, from its upstream effluence to its downstream confluence with Colombo Creek both located adjacent to Morundah Racecourse all within Reserve 67478, Parish of Waugh, County of Urana,

(i)  Unnamed watercourse, from its confluence with Yanco Creek within portion 22, Parish of Moonbria, County of Townsend, to the earth dam located 158 metres upstream within portion 3, Parish of Moonbria, County of Townsend,

(j)  Unnamed watercourse offtaking from Yanco Creek within portion 159, Parish of Bundure, County of Urana, to its upper limits within portion 58, Parish of Douglas, County of Urana,

(k)  Unnamed watercourse from its offtake from an unnamed watercourse within portion 57, Parish of Douglas, County of Urana, and traversing portions 58, 61 and 156, Parish of Douglas, County of Urana,

(l)  Unnamed watercourse (artificially improved), from its confluence with Yanco Creek within WR 1630 adjacent to portion 73, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, to its confluence with Back Creek within said portion,

(m)  Back Creek from its confluence with unnamed watercourse within portion 73, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, to its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Washpen Creek within portion 72, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd,

(n)  Unnamed watercourse from its offtake from Colombo Creek within Reserve 1631, east of Portion 127, Parish of Bingagong, County of Urana, downstream to its confluence with Yanco Creek within Portion 114, Parish of Bingagong, County of Urana,

(o)  Unnamed watercourse from its junction with Yanco Creek, within Reserve 1630, fronting Portion 128, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, to its junction with another unnamed watercourse within Portion 132, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, at a point approximately 870 metres east from the 2011 No 340 western boundary and 50 metres south from the northern boundary of the said portion,

(p)  Washpen Creek from its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Back Creek within portion 72, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd to its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Woolshed Creek within the Road Reserve located between portions 163 and 176, Parish of Howell, County of Boyd,

(q)  Woolshed Creek from its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Washpen Creek within Road Reserve between portions 163 and 176, Parish of Howell, County of Boyd, to its confluence with Yanco Creek within WR 1684 adjacent to portion 142, Parish of Howell, County of Urana,

(r)  Yanco Creek from its offtake from the Murrumbidgee River to its confluence with Billabong Creek.

Appendix 1 Rivers and lakes in the regulated river order

Note—

Under the Act, regulated rivers are defined in an order made by the Minister. This appendix lists the rivers and the lakes that were in the order at the commencement of this Plan. This appendix is provided for informational purposes only. The legally binding version of the regulated river is published in the NSW Government Gazette. As at the commencement of this Plan, the Regulated River Order for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source was found in the Government Gazette No 110 on 1 July 2004 at page 5490.

As at the commencement of this Plan, the Murrumbidgee Water Management Area Regulated River Order includes the rivers that are downstream of Burrinjuck Dam water storage and Blowering Dam and are listed below:

(a)  Adelong Creek, that part which adjoins the generally northwestern boundary of portion 113 REM., Parish of Willie Ploma, County of Wynyard,

(b)  Back Creek from its confluence with unnamed watercourse within portion 73, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, to its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Washpen Creek within portion 72, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd,

(c)  Beavers Creek,

(d)  Billabong Creek from its junction with Colombo Creek to its confluence with the Edward River,

(e)  Billabong Creek upstream from its confluence with Colombo Creek to the concrete dam situated between portion 63, Parish of Cocketgedong and portion 24, Parish of Nowranie both in the County of Urana,

(f)  Bombowlee Creek from its confluence with the Tumut River within Portion 199, parish of Killimicat, County of Buccleuch, to its intersection with the northern boundary of the road between the aforesaid portion and Portion 75, Parish of Mundongo, County of Buccleuch,

(g)  Bullenbong Creek from its junction with Old Man Creek to a point 305 metres upstream,

(h)  Bundidgerry Creek from western boundary of portion 67, Parish of Berrembed, County of Bourke, downstream to western boundary of portion 253, Parish of Narrandera, County of Cooper,

(i)  Colombo Creek from its offtake from Yanco Creek to its confluence with Billabong Creek,

(j)  Coonooncoocabil Lagoon, County of Cooper,

(k)  Cowabbie Creek from the western boundary of portion 224, Parish of Berrembed, County of Bourke, downstream to its confluence with Bundidgerry Creek,

(l)  Cuddell Creek form the intersection point of creek bank and the common boundary between portions 4 and 5, Parish of Cuddell, County of Mitchell, to its confluence with Yanco Creek,

(m)  Eringowarra Creek from its effluence with the Murrumbidgee River within portion 20, Parish of Bilda, County of Clarendon, downstream to a point 100 metres south of portion 18, within portion 34, parish of Bilda, County of Clarendon,

(n)  Forest Creek from its offtake from Billabong Creek within T.S.R. 30139, Parish of Thulabin, County of Townsend downstream to Warriston Weir,

(o)  Killimicat Creek from its junction with Nimbo Creek downstream to its junction with Brungle Creek,

(p)  Island Creek offtaking from the Murrumbidgee River between portions 138 and 139, Parish of Tenandra, County of Clarenden,

(q)  Island Lagoon in its entirety from its common effluence/confluence with the Murrumbidgee River, located within portion 209, Parish of Tooyal, County of Bourke,

(r)  Murrumbidgee River from Burrinjuck Dam wall, being the point at latitude -35.00284 and longitude 148.583817 in decimal degrees GDA94, downstream to the Murray River,

(r1)  Burrinjuck Dam water storage,

(s)  Nimbo Creek,

(t)  Nowranie Creek upstream from its confluence with Billabong Creek to the concrete dam situated within portion 27, Parish of Nowranie, County of Urana,

(u)  Old Man Creek,

(v)  Sheepwash Creek form its confluence with Billabong Creek within portion 49, Parish of Wanganella, County of Townsend, upstream to its intersection with the eastern boundary of said portion, parish and county,

(w)  Tumut River from Blowering Dam wall, being the point at latitude -35.40047 and longitude 148.244146 in decimal degrees GDA94, downstream to the Murrumbidgee River,

(w1)  Blowering Dam water storage,

(x)  Unnamed watercourse (known locally as “The Washaway”) offtaking from the Tumut River within portion 40, Parish of Blowering, County of Buccleuch,

(y)  Unnamed watercourse offtaking from the Murrumbidgee River within portion 21, Parish of Borambula, County of Wynyard, to its confluence with the Murrumbidgee River within portion 102, Parish of Borambula, County of Wynyard,

(z)  Unnamed watercourse offtaking from the Murrumbidgee River in portion 39, Parish of Mundarlo, County of Wynyard, downstream to its confluence with the Murrumbidgee River,

(aa)  Unnamed watercourse offtaking from the Murrumbidgee River within portion 94, Parish of Uri, County of Boyd,

(ab)  Unnamed watercourse offtaking at two points from the Murrumbidgee River within portion 136, Parish of Tenandra, County of Clarenden,

(ac)  Unnamed watercourse formerly offtaking from a bend in the Murrumbidgee River within portion 13, Parish of Burt, County of Boyd and now cut off from a supply by construction of Gogeldrie Weir. Alternative supply is now obtained from diversion works constructed by the Crown in the form of a cutting and regulator offtaking from the pool of this weir in portion 8 of the said parish,

(ad)  Unnamed lagoon and unnamed watercourse located within portions 38, 15 and C.R. 482, Parish of Bundidgerry, County of Cooper,

(ae)  Unnamed watercourse connection an unnamed lagoon with Bundidgerry Creek within C.R. 482, Parish of Bundidgerry, County of Cooper,

(af)  Unnamed lagoon, from its upstream effluence to its downstream confluence with Colombo Creek both located adjacent to Morundah Racecourse all within Reserve 67478, Parish of Waugh, County of Urana,

(ag)  Unnamed watercourse, from it confluence with Yanco Creek within portion 22, Parish of Moonbria, County of Townsend, to the earth dam located 158 metres upstream within portion 3, Parish of Moonbria, County of Townsend,

(ah)  Unnamed watercourse offtaking from Yanco Creek within portion 159, Parish of Bundure, County of Urana, to its upper limits within portion 58, Parish of Douglas, County of Urana,

(ai)  Unnamed watercourse from its offtake from an unnamed watercourse within portion 57, Parish of Douglas, County of Urana, and traversing portions 58, 61 and 156, Parish of Douglas, County of Urana,

(aj)  Unnamed watercourse (artificially improved), from its confluence with Yanco Creek within WR 1630 adjacent to portion 73, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, to its confluence with Back Creek within said portion,

(ak)  Unnamed watercourse from its offtake from Colombo Creek within Reserve 1631, east of Portion 127, Parish of Bingagong, County of Urana, downstream to its confluence with Yanco Creek within Portion 114, Parish of Bingagong, County of Urana,

(al)  Unnamed watercourse from its junction with Yanco Creek, within Reserve 1630, fronting Portion 128, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, to its junction with another unnamed watercourse within Portion 132, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd, at a point approximately 870 metres east from the western boundary and 50 metres south from the northern boundary of the said portion,

(am)  Uri Creek from its junction with the Unnamed Watercourse offtaking from the Murrumbidgee River within portion 94, Parish of Uri, County of Boyd, downstream to its confluence with the Murrumbidgee River,

(an)  Washpen Creek from its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Back Creek within portion 72, Parish of Uroly, County of Boyd to its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Woolshed Creek within the Road Reserve located between portions 163 and 176, Parish of Howell, County of Boyd,

(ao)  Woolshed Creek from its confluence with Pine Watercourse and Washpen Creek within Road Reserve between portions 163 and 176, Parish of Howell, County of Boyd, to its confluence with Yanco Creek within WR 1684 adjacent to portion 142, Parish of Howell, County of Urana,

(ap)  Yanco Creek from its offtake from the Murrumbidgee River to its confluence with Billabong Creek.

Appendix 2 Overview of the Plan Map

Plan Map (WSP027_Version 2), Lowbidgee of the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source

Appendix 3 Inspection of the Plan Map

Copies of the Plan Map may be inspected at the following offices:

DPI Water
Department of Industries
22–23 Chelmsford Place
LEETON NSW 2705

DPI Water
Department of Industries
126 Lachlan Street
HAY NSW 2711

DPI Water
Department of Industries
Corner Sturt Street and Olympic Highway
WAGGA WAGGA NSW 2650

Appendix 4 Office

Any notifications that may be required to be made to the Minister, as specified in this Plan can be made to the following office:

DPI Water
Department of Industries
PO Box 156
LEETON NSW 2705