Eurobodalla Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy

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Eurobodalla Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy
Local water utility access licenses, major utility access licenses and domestic and
stock access licenses have priority over all other access licenses.
Regulated river (high security) access licenses have priority over regulated river
(general security) access licenses and regulated river (supplementary water)
access licenses.
Finally regulated river (general security) access licenses have priority over
regulated river (supplementary water) access licenses.
All water rights are reduced in periods of low flow, although those with a higher priority
licence will have their allocation diminished at a lesser rate.
The amount of water required to be left for the environment has yet to be determined by the
water management committees. It is likely though that the first water-sharing plan will
require that the lowest 5% of the flows be left for the environment (95 th percentile). When
the plans are reviewed after the mandated 10-year period, it is possible that in light of
additional environmental data the environment may be allocated the lowest 20% of the
flows (80 th percentile). Of the water left in the river it is likely that only 30% will be available
for extraction by all users.
It is generally accepted that ecosystems are highly vulnerable during low flow periods, but
that natural flow regime variations are important to ensure a healthy and diverse ecological
community. Developing draft management plans can be difficult in the absence of river flow
management plans and specific local scientific knowledge about the ecology and
conservation values of these river systems. It has been suggested that the precautionary
principle be adopted in the future planning of the regional water supply scheme and in the
development of draft management plans. The precautionary principle states that if there are
threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, a lack of full scientific certainty
should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental
degradation.
Under the WM Act, town water use is subject to a maximum extraction volume. This
maximum volume can be calculated in one of three ways:
Existing entitlement: Many towns already have a volume entitlement specified in their
works license or in a legal agreement.
Reasonable entitlement: The volume of water the town can extract is calculated by
reference to the demographic and geographic characteristic of the town, assuming
reasonable demand management measures are in place.
System capacity: A volume of water calculated on the basis of the current yield of the
water management works.
Where the volume calculated for the access license is greater than the volume currently
used, the town may need to seek the Minister’s consent before extracting this extra water.
Town water access licenses are to be reviewed every five years and varied according to the
changes in population. However no allowances for additional water for new or expanded
industries are made in this review. For Eurobodalla this means that additional water needs
for commercial, agricultural or industrial uses within a town water supply will need to be met
by:
Surplus water within the town’s defined license volume
Water efficiency gains
The industry obtaining their own access through the purchasing of water from other
users.