GWYDIR VALLEY IRRIGATORS ASSOCIATION
In the interests of keep our staff and community safe at the busy and important time, our office in Moree remains temporarily closed given
the current COVID outbreak.
Members can call the office to arrange a teleconference or video conference meeting for any inquiries.
Please stay safe.
The NSW Government has announced an additional 4.8% increase in general security and environmental contingency accounts following inflows into Copeton Dam. Copeton Dam is sitting at 86% capacity, and on average general security accounts have 135% in accounts made up of 78.4% allocation provided this year plus carryover from previous years. General security accounts have a maximum account limit of 150% this account limit is reached prior to Copeton Dam being at full capacity due to unallocated water.
WaterNSW indicated during our recent Customer Meeting and River Operations meeting that any customer interested in supplementary water
was to contact the RiverOpsNorth@waternsw.com.au with ongoing unregulated flows downstream and limited
interest, they will not be making announcements until further notice.
Supplementary access usage and the updated rolling roster is available via our website. To see a break down of supplementary events and sharing arrangements visit https://waterinsights.waternsw.com.au/11985-gwydir-regulated-river/allocation
Want to find our for yourself what the new NSW Metering Rules mean for you? The NSW Government is holding two virtual metering field
days
to help you understand the rules and what you need to do to be compliant.
You will be able to ask questions to a panel from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment - Water group, WaterNSW and NRAR
staff. Fee free to ask these questions when registering.
Metering suppliers will also be presenting information on their products and available to answer your questions.
Session
1
Thursday 28 October
Session1: 12:30pm – 3.00pm
Session
2
Friday 29 October
Session1: 12:30pm – 3.00pm
Copeton Dam is a 86% percent capacity and General Security allocations including for the ECA and environmental water holders for this
year equal 73%, including carryover there is on average 126% in accounts. This is a stark contrast to conditions 18-months
ago for our region and others. For all NSW northern valleys storages are on average at 83% of capacity, the central valleys
have 91% and the southern valleys on 94%. There actually isn't a lot of room for more inflows.
The NSW Government has released excess licenses in some water sharing plan areas of NSW under a controlled allocation. These areas
include the fractured rock and GAB groundwater water source areas within our region if interested.
This process sets a minumum price per megalitre and a total volume of unit shares available for each listed water source and/or zone.
The majority of licenses are being released in coastal areas following the water sharing plan processes in those regions.
Understanding the changes to the NSW Metering Rules for non-urban water users can be a challenge and often the information is spread across
a number of Department and industry sources. We have found, the most central point to visit is WaterNSW Metering page https://www.waternsw.com.au/customer-service/water-licensing/metering#stay
It has the three steps you should take and all the links to the forms, the rules and the Departments Metering Guidance tool which we
encourage you to use. But importantly, its WaterNSW who manage the implementation and integration of the new rules on the ground, they
collect information from your Duly Qualified Persons and they administer the licensing database if you determine you need to make
amendments. In most cases it is WaterNSW you will need to speak with about metering as they are the customer liaison group,
plus they have a customer hotline 1300 662 077.
It is this website that features heavily in our video series on metering.
The NSW Water Minister today announced the NSW Government will exempt up to 500 small water users who take water under a domestic and
stock water access licence from non-urban metering rules, fixing an inconsistency in the NSW Government’s metering policy . The
announcement details are accessed below.
Zara Lowien from the GVIA said while welcomed for some water users, the decision to not extend this exemption to
groundwater sources such as the Lower Gwydir and the NSW Great Artesian Basin, will mean the majority of the region's stock and domestic
groundwater works are still required to be metered in the Gwydir Valley. This means many lifestyle blocks on the outskirts of towns
like Moree and dryland farms still need a water meter by 1 December 2021. This is over-reach by the metering reforms which should
focus on water being actively used for irrigation and as such, the exemptions should be extended to these other water sources.
We are also calling on the NSW Government to prioritise solutions for land owners who hold a water access licenses but are not active irrigators before the deadline of 1 December 2021. Again a large number of lifestyle blocks have small licenses that are inactive for
irrigation but that may be used for stock and domestic or basic landholder rights, who without intervention are required to have a meter by
December 2021.
To assess if you need a meter, see our video series via https://vimeo.com/showcase/8853111
The NSW Select Committee Inquiry into floodplain harvesting has had an explosive start to public hearings this week with hearings due to
wrap up on Friday, 24th September with the NSW Water Minister.
Zara Lowien, from the Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association said the next few days will be interesting as mainly stakeholders who are vocal
against the licencing proposal and irrigation in the northern valleys, present their cases.
“Since the drought we’ve seen floodplain harvesting which is water taken during a flood when rivers and streams are full and spilling
onto the floodplains, being criticised as the cause of all the problems with water management and the environment during the drought”.
“Everyone agrees current conditions are good – our rivers are flowing freely, with many storages including the Menindee Lakes full,
which is in stark contrast to the recent drought, when our rivers stopped flowing.”
“With many these mistruths blown out of the water and some stakeholders refusing to accept the real facts. Those destined to
undermine this process have fallen back on highly nuanced and often contradictory arguments on what is the long-term legal limit and
disputes on modelling results”.
“The analysis being used to support the claim that NSW is trying to update Cap without due process during this inquiry is not correct, nor
is the claim that Cap is being increased.”
“The analysis used to make the claims, isn’t even comparing apples with apples” said Mrs Lowien.
Food and fibre production in the northern Murray Darling Basin is worth more than $6 billion a year, according to a report by leading
Australian economic analysis company Macroplan. The report, commissioned by the Northern Valley Irrigators groups of which the Gwydir Valley contributed, sets out the value and flow-on benefits of investment in irrigated agriculture in the northern Basin.
“The report shows the economic and social value of irrigated and other agriculture in in the northern Basin,” explained Michael Drum, Executive Officer of Macquarie River Food and Fibre.
“Regional communities dominated by agriculture are circular economies, each sector relies on the other to be successful. Much of the
irrigated product both primary and secondary uses, goes to feeding a highly valuable livestock industry as well the food we eat and the
clothes we wear”.
Here is our third video in a NSW Metering Rules series - this is for active users, who want to work out if they need a meter and what
type of meter, but also who they contact.
This video goes through some examples, for groundwater users and surface water users using the NSW
Government Metering Guidance Tool.
It also then shows you how to find an approved expert to help provide you more specific advice, on what meter you may need and to install a
new one or check the one you have via the Irrigation Australia database
of Certified Meter Installers.
This video is available https://vimeo.com/610165753
Here is our second video in our NSW Metering Rules series - this is designed to help you make the administrative updates to your work
approval.
1. For users who are not active users for irrigation or do not have infrastructure, we cover the steps to mark your site inactive.
2. For users who want to just pump stock and domestic or basic landholder rights water, we explain how you can remove your WAL and change
the purpose of your work or just keep the works as they are but check if you need to install a meter.
3. For users who are active and there are differences between your on-farm infrastructure and the work approval, how to amend these.
You must not delay with undertaking these steps, there are price increases from 1 October 2021 for these applications.
This video is available via vimeo https://vimeo.com/609659644
Within the IPART pricing review details revealed the metering reform policy established by the NSW Government in 2019, is not meeting
its promised objectives.
“We’ve been watching the train-wreck that is the implementation and administration of the NSW metering policy and working on solutions, to
iron out barriers to compliance[1]” said Mrs Lowien.
“Detail in the attachments of the IPART review has highlighted the policy is also failing to meet expected efficiency or cost savings too”
she said.
“IPART has had to blend metering administration charges because it was going to be more expensive for customers to have telemetry ".
“The Government telemetry system is a complete farce, it’s not integrated properly within Government systems, water users cannot connect or
utilise the data easily and now, IPART have also exposed there’s no financial savings or benefits either” she said.
[1] Document in the comprehensive barriers to compliance document by NSWIC https://www.nswic.org.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-09-01-NSWIC-Report-on-Barriers-to-Metering-Compliance-FINAL-.pdf
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) NSW handed down their new pricing structure for water charges in NSW to start from 1
October 2021 with no good news for farmers, struggling to recovery from the drought and the reform costs for metering already.
“The details within the determination confirms that Gwydir water users will see significant pricing change increases across the valley for
the next four years.”
“The only water user to see a reduction in overall charges are inland groundwater users, largely due to cost shifting between agencies.”
“High security and unregulated users are the hardest hit with 46% and 66% increase in some charges respectively. General security and
supplementary users are not free from increases, usage charges for them increase 34%[1]” she said.
“There are also significant increases in administration charges through WaterNSW which the GVIA warn anyone with a water approval to be
aware of the increase” said Mrs Lowien.
The recent resource assessment has increased general security allocation to 69.3% for the Gwydir Valley. Copeton Dam is at 82%
capacity and rising.
A stark contrast to this time last year, when Copeton Dam was at 16% capacity.
Total water available for general security irrgators in Copeton is 496,000ML with 213,000ML for held environmental water accounts,
including the ECA. This water is in the bank, so to speak and can be carried over if it is not needed this year. All high
security and other essential supplies are 100% and fully secured for two years.
In a scathing investigative report released today [HERE],
NSW Irrigators’ Council found the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment-Water (DPIE-Water) and WaterNSW had failed to execute
their administrative and technical responsibilities effectively.
“The industry supports this reform, which requires water users to upgrade their meters to a new, world-leading standard,” NSWIC CEO Claire
Miller said.
“But irrigators are fed up with being blamed for non-compliance by deadlines while DPIE-Water and WaterNSW get away with glossing over the
scale and impact of their poor planning.
GVIA helped inform the report and has been advocating to various Department's now for years, to address these barriers.
Executive Officer Zara Lowien said "We've been collating and communicating these issues directly to government for years, trying to work constructively, encourage action and implement the reform".
"But now, water users are receiving NRAR advisory letters becuase the government has failed to provide them an approved device to
install".
"Its not good enough to tell us the market will respond or don't worry, just "evidence" your effort."
"Water users are sick and tired of providing "evidence" on multiple occasions, to multiple NRAR employees that don't even seem to speak to each other or keep this "evidence".
"Water users just actually want to be compliant but the government agencies are letting them down".
"Enough is enough, its time they step up if they want this reform to work" she said.
The NSW metering rules apply to all works and compliance will be assessed against your work approval - not what is in the ground and
whether you use it or not. If you do not actively use these works or do not have any infrastructure installed, you are not required to
have a meter.
Before a work will be tagged as inactive, YOU MUST demonstrate the work is not physically capable of taking water and REGISTER your work as
inactive. This is done through WaterNSW.
Registering your work inactive will ensure you avoid being non-compliant to these rules by the relevant due date; either 1 December 2020 for larger than 500mm sites or 1 December 2021 for all other sites. This applies to both surface and groundwater works.
The form required is vailable here https://www.waternsw.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/142628/Application-to-amend-approval-for-inactive-or-active-works.pdf
The realities of metering statistics are very different to the story being communicated by NRAR.
Valley based tracking of progress is available via NRAR and is presented on our new page below. Here we also capture the key barriers encountered by different users in these different categories. We thank everyone for their efforts to comply and despite some of the
media coverage, we encourage you to keep up the good work.
There will be significant challenges for Stage 2 - administratively, as well as in terms of resourcing with 7,601 istes in the northern
inland required to be compliant to the new rules by 1 December 2021. Please do not leave contacting a DQP if you are in this next
stage to the last minute.
WaterNSW would like to remind customers that supplementary water is available with unregulated inflows occuring downstream of Copeton
Dam.
These flows are providing water right along our river systems, the first 500ML/day are being delivered to the wetlands but any flows greater than that are being shared 50:50 between the environment and customers. WaterNSW indicated downstream tributary inflows greater than the minimum flow to the wetlands are being diverted away from this area where possible, unless ordered by customers. These rules and this operations, are enabling sharing of flows along our rivers and and beyond with more than 40,000ML flowing past Collarenbri from the Mehi alone this last month.
Contact WaterNSW via email at RiverOpsNorth@waternsw.com.au, or alternately by contacting
Roger Hunt or Ken Gee.
Copeton Dam has been rising since December 2020 since catchment wide rainfall began to fall with around 600GL of inflows over this time. This
rising trend is being followed right around NSW, with the current state-wide storage capacity at 74% (Copeton Dam just below the
state average at 63%).
However, percentages don't tell the whole story in the context of total water available around the state.
The northern basin has 71% availability equalling, 1,982GL of water, the central west is above the state average at 75% with 2,230GL of
water available and the souther basin also above the state average at 77% full has 8,876GL of water available. We set up a new page on our website to explore this here.
Irrigators argue NRAR's statement was misleading given some works fell into that category due to factors outside their control - such as
back-log in the supply and installation of government-approved meters and telemetry equipment.
Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) announcing they were taking enforcement action after statewide inspections found 45 per cent of
inspected pumps were still not fitted with compliant meters.
GVIA said: "Its hard to be compliant to new rules when in some instances there isn't an approved replacement meter available or if
your still waiting for it to arrive after ordering it. Many of these replacement meter jobs you cannot just buy a meter and stick it
in a pipe, they're custom built and designed and take significant planning and lead time.
We'd like to thank our local service providers for their perseverance with these new rules, your patience in trying to solve these
complex problems bought about by a poorly formed set of rules. We are grateful for all your effort for the industry so far. "
DPIE is currently seeking watercourse landholder input to develop business cases for the Lower Gwydir and Gingham Watercourses, Lower Mehi
River and Ballin Boora Creek.
Over the next few months they will be working with the local community to develop the business case. There will be a series of community
gatherings followed by local workshops to: discuss project objectives and opportunities, bring local knowledge and community needs into the
scoping of potential measures, create strategies for on-ground outcomes.
Landholders in the project area should have received information in the mail however if you are located in the project area and did not
receive a letter please contact us. The community gatherings from next Monday 19 July – 22 Thursday July 2021
Find out more:
Online: environment.nsw.gov.au/nbtk/gwydircmp
Email: gwydir.cmp@environment.nsw.gov.au
The resource assessment for Copeton Dam up to 30 June 2021 was made available with the first allocation for the year being granted to
general security water users and the ECA of 11.1%. This bring the irrigation total water availability for this year, including
carry over to 264,400ML while environmental accounts hold 125,600ML.
Supplementary water announcements are also ongoing with inflows below Copeton Dam being shared 50:50 with the environment after
the first 500ML are provided to the Gwydir Wetlands.
NSW DPIE - Water announced starting allocations for the 2021-22 water year, on 1 July 2021.
All groundwater and surface water users received their 1ML per unit share allocation, OTHER THAN general security users who are likely
to receive a new resource assessment later this month and supplementary water users who received only 0.5ML per unit share. This
is the first time supplementary licences have been reduced below 1ML per unit share, and is in response to the recent disallowance
of the government's proposed regulations to reduce, measure and account for floodplain harvesting in our water sharing plan see our previous media release.
General security carry over of 214,000ML from allocations previously will be available for this new year.
The Land's Olivia Calver reported: Gwydir Valley irrigators have hit out at the NSW Parliament after supplementary water users in the
Gwydir and Border Rivers were informed their allocations would be reduced, as an apparent consequence of floodplain harvesting regulations
being disallowed.
The floodplain harvesting regulations were disallowed
by the NSW Upper House last month,
with the opposition and cross-bench calling for downstream targets to be established before the government is given "a blank cheque" for
floodplain harvesting legislation.
NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey appeared to confirm the supplementary water restriction was a result of the disallowance in a statement
from her office.
"Until floodplain harvesting licences and rules are implemented, any unmanaged growth in water use will have to be offset through reduced
allocations for supplementary water licences, in line with Water Sharing Plan rules," the statement read.
"The FPH policy and regs apply to all water users across NSW."
“You don’t rob Peter, the supplementary licence holder to pay Paul, the floodplain harvester. It’s not a fair and equitable way to
manage water and it’s not good policy”.
This decision is in response to the failure of Minister Pavey to gain NSW parliament support of regulations to enable the licensing of a
separate form of take, floodplain harvesting. Which in May 2021 the Legislative Council blocked regulation aimed at reducing floodplain
harvesting to legal limits and ensuring all water taken from the floodplains was measured and accounted.
GVIA, Executive Officer Zara Lowien said “we made it clear at the time that communities around the Murray Darling would be worse off
without a floodplain harvesting licencing framework. We are now seeing the consequences of that misguided decision” she said.
WaterNSW advises that Tareelaroi Weir on the Gwydir River is now operational.
Tareelaroi Weir was temporarily out of service as a result of the floods in late March.
With the Tareelaroi Weir gates now operational, water in excess of the environmental provisions of the Water Sharing Plan may be diverted to
the Mehi River.
Normal operations will resume, with downstream tributary flows expected to provide minor stock and domestic/riparian flows throughout the
valley.
DPIE Water provided the last resource assessment for the 2020/2021 water year, with a 0.9% general security allocation. This
brings the total allocation for this water year to 58%. Essential supplies are secured for two-years in advance.
The assessment is available here.
Starting allocations will be announced on 1 July 2021 with the next resource assessment to be available on 7 June.
The irrigation efficiency and automation research at Keytah this year has seen a large number of new innovations tested at a fild level. At our field day this year we interviewed many of the research and commercial partners in this project. Over the next few months we will be releasing these videos and loading them onto the GVIA website as well as the Smarter Irrigation for profit website. Here is one of the latest releases.
Moree Plains Shire Council are asking all rate payers their view on the feasibility of a potential levee around part of the town of Moree
via a survey in the mail this week. Information on the proposal is located on their website and a frequently
asked question
document has been prepared. The proposal is summarised within the FAQ document and this letter.
Dryside Engineering are available for face-to-face one-on-one meetings this week in Moree. We encourage you if you are available to
discuss your thoughts with the engineers.
As there remains a gap in understanding the impacts to the rural landholders downstream of Moree (located on the Gwydir and Mehi systems), I
have arranged for a targeted group session with impacted landholders will be hosted in the GVIA office. This will help inform the
final benefit cost ratio of the proposal and is important an accurate account of impacts is assessed.
The GVIA will not be engaging in debate regarding Mr Justin Field's, MLC decision to select statements from privileged and generic legal
advice, to justify his motion to disallow regulations and ignite a new conspiracy.
This information is not substantially inconsistent with previous advice issued by the Crown Solicitor, NSWIC or that received by individuals. Albeit it does address a broader range of issues including case law precedents for leniency. The regulations that
Mr Field, MLC, led to disallow in the NSW Legislative Council were designed to address the known legal ambiguity with the Water Management
Act once and for all, and provide a mechanism to licence, manage and meter this historical form of take in a consistent manner.
Our position remains unchanged.
Our statement regarding the mess that the disallowance creates for all NSW remains unchanged. It can be found here.
Mr Field should heed his own advice that the tit for tat over legal advice has to end and take productive steps to clean up the mess he
helped create across all NSW.
NSW DPIEW increased general security allocations by 2.3% this month, bringing allocations to 57.1% for this water year. This
allocation with previous carry over, means water users have 210,500ML and environmental water managers have 69,300ML and ECA 36,800ML to
utilise a later date. Essential supplies are secured for two-years in advance.
There have been continual low, small flows along the river systems. Water sharing plan rules and infrastructure
constraints (due to damage from the recent flooding) means these flows cannot be managed and this water is flowing through the lower
sections of the Gwydir and Gingham, with some water being managed down the Carole creek.
GVIA, Executive Officer Zara Lowien who was at parliament house said she’s still dismayed.
"On Thursday, the NSW Legislative Council voted against improving environmental outcomes in our rivers, floodplains and wetlands and
in doing so has lost the faith of industry and our support. Until this mess is sorted out, our legal advice is clear that the status quo
leaves floodplain harvesting as unmanaged, unmeasured and unaccounted for right across NSW."
We just cannot see how this disallowance is a better deal for NSW” she said.
(Photo: NSW Legilstive Council photo via Facebook @nswupperhouse) .
Water users, their communities, and environments right around the Murray-Darling Basin had their calls to the NSW Government for better
management of water, answered as the NSW Government made regulations to enable the management, measurement, and accounting of the final
source of water in NSW which is taken off the floodplains.
Zara Lowien said “These three regulations outline the mechanics to enable the calculation, issuing and enforcement of limits in our local
water plans through mandatory metering of floodplain take[1], which has not existed previously” she said
“They mean NSW Government can now manage all forms of water take, right across NSW consistently” she said.
[1] Refer to Fast Facts about Floodplain Harvesting for a description of this form of water take.
One week after saying two-thirds of water users were not making effort with metering reforms the Natural Access Resource Regulator has
changed their mind.
The Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association stand firm saying the regulator was out of line in their approach to the media, using untested data
from inadequate systems which have been proven wrong with new field data released today. Mrs Zara Lowien from Gwydir Valley Irrigators
Association said “this new information confirms how important on-site information and ensuring boots on the ground are used in compliance
just not desk-top studies.”
The Gwydir Valley Floodplain Management Plan is due for it's five-year review as per the plan requirements. The review is to determine whether its provisions remain adequate and appropriate for ensuring the effective implementation of the water management principles. The public submission period provides opportunities for water users, stakeholders and other interested parties to inform the review of these plans. Comment is specifically being sought on:
Irrigation Australia - the national organisation representing the Australian irrigation industry in all sectors from water users, manufacturers, retailers, consultants, designers and installers, finds it disappointing that this article conveys an impression that irrigators are deliberately avoiding their obligations under the new regulations. The facts are quite different and comments of this nature risk undoing much of the good work and goodwill that irrigators, irrigator groups and duly qualified persons (DQPs) have undertaken to support the NSW Government objective of accurately measuring water take in NSW
The Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association hit back saying the regulator was out of line in their approach to the media, using untested data
from inadequate systems with suspicious timing. They believe all this does, is confirm that the metering reforms was an overly ambitious
and poorly planned policy from the beginning.
(Photo: Federal Senators from the Senate Select Committee members into the Multijurisdictional Management and Execution of the Murray
Darling Basin Plan during their tour in Moree, this week looking at a fully compliant, transitioned meter)
Copeton Dam is at 40% and steady and as a result, general security allocations have increased by 39.12% resulting in 54.8% allocation for
the year for environmental and production. Most of this water will be carried over to be used at a later time.
Full supplementary allocations were also made available with up to 116,000 ML ordered by irrigators and 5,700 ML by environmental water
holders during these events.
WaterNSW have initiated flood forecasting and reporting following the recent widespread rain and flooding in the Gwydir, Border Rivers,
Macquarie and Culgoa. This replicates and updates their reporting during the First Flush event in 2020. The most
recent update on 6
April revealed between 400-600GL to flow into Menindee Lakes from all the tributaries. However, forecasting is limited due to the nature of
the floodplain flows and natural breakouts along the Barwon River.
Its great to see so many rivers full and spilling.
How the water is managed once it reaches Menindee Lakes will be closely scrutinised given the likely volumes and the many competing
interests there. The NSW Water Minister recently said "NSW will be making decisions on how to manage the inflows into the
Menindee System with the first objective being to improve water supplies in the Lower Darling coimmunities and ensure the top two Lakes are
filled" via The Land ift.tt/3wybHSV.
The peak of the floods in the Gwydir Valley have passed through the township of Moree and are heading west. Many describe this event as
being two floods, the one caused initially from local rainfall of between 100-200mm and then the flood from upstream water sources like the
Horton River into the Gwydir and Mehi systems, that came at least three-days later.
Local rainfall and unregulated water is therefore, now being backed up by the major floodwaters from upstream, which is likely to result in
sustained, major flooding in the lower sections of the Gwydir floodplain.
All the rivers and creeks in the lower floodplain are flowing above capacity as water spills out. There is 100% supplementary access
available. During this time, Copeton Dam has increased from 22% to 39% capacity during this event, with a resource allocation likely
in early April in response.
There is a history of flooding in the Gwydir Valley and the peak height of the flood in Moree and surrounding gauges is provided on our
page 'History of Flooding' and compared with previous large and major floods.
Disaster recovery funding has been declared for Moree, Gwydir and Inverell Shire areas in response to flooding.
Assistance available under the Disaster Relief Funding Agreement with the Commonwealth may include:
The Bureau of Meteorology have issued the first MAJOR Flood Warning for the Gwydir Valley with a peak today in the afternoon. Local
rainfall and inflows may mean this peak is earlier.
Key sites to monitor are the BOM - Gwydir Flood Warning
To watch river levels WaterNSW - WaterLive app or Realtime
Water Data
For advice at what to do in a flood visit SES website
For flood comparisons, visit our webpage 'History of Flooding' where we have a comparison of this event to past floods.
Currently NSW are implementing a compliance and licencing reform for floodplain harvesting take, when our rivers and floodplains are full
and spilling but NSW are designing it without any consideration to social and economic factors in the communities in the northern basin.
Water users accept that legal limits must be recognised, but decisions on how to achieve these limits must consider the socio-economic
impacts on community that’s because past reforms have taught us how important water is to our community. We know every $1 lost at the
farm gate will take a minimum of $2.18 from our economy, it means less money to spend in shops and businesses, less jobs and less families
and less services in our community.
None of us can afford for government to put us in a man-made drought while we are still recovering from this one.
We are asking everyone to get involved to help ensure our voice is heard.
HAVE YOUR SAY and provide a submission to government on these rules via this link, to put our communities back into the picture.
Key in this process is questions 8.1 and 9.1, whereby flexibility to have access to a flood is essential for our community. We
estimate the community impact of this to be conservatively, $1.1B if we cannot enact some change right now.
The NSW Government has released their newest tool to monitor, manage and communicate to water users and the community groundwater
take. The amount of groundwater that can be extracted from a groundwater source is limited. While the amount extracted by all
water users varies each year, on average it cannot exceed the extraction limits. Before July each year, the department assesses if average
extraction over the previous five years has exceeded the long-term average annual extraction limit plus a buffer (called the compliance
trigger).
This tool can help identify risks to valley compliance and given water usage has reduced, the Lower Gwydir groundwater is unlikely to breach any required limits and this is explained
in this report.
The February Copeton Dam assessment was completed with no further allocations provided. All essential supply and delivery accounts are fully reserved and deliveries have returned to on-demand, as opposed to bulk ordered. The region remains on 15.57% allocation with 232GL stored in Copeton Dam.
The NSW Government session will cover key information to help you get measurement ready. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions
to a panel from the department's Water division and NRAR.
Trade stalls will be held after the information session so you can meet and connect with metering suppliers, installers and key department
staff from the floodplain harvesting licencing and approvals team.
Moree
Thursday, 11 March
10:00am – 1:30pm
Max Theatre, Level 1/30 Heber St, Moree
Register
to attend this session
NSW Department are holding face-to-face consultation on proposed rules for floodplain harvesting in the Gwydir Valley for the regulated and
unregulated water sources, in Moree on Wednesday 24th February and Thursday 25th February. Due to COVID safe restrictions you must
register. Visit the Department website below.
We encourage all members and associated agricultural businesses to attend to hear about this historic reform and how NSW intends to manage
it into the future. Implementing floodplain harvesting will be a significant regulatory shift for our industry and will have
community impacts, ad water users adjust to new rules.
By releasing draft floodplain harvesting rules and updated modeling results for the Gwydir Valley the NSW Government took another small but
important step forward in transitioning this historical form of take into the current regulatory framework, 20-years in the making.
The process, won't be without impact but will have broad benefits as well. Volumetric licensing together with modern measurement and
compliance, is the only way to have greater transparency and accountability for everyone who shares in floods. Its why we have particpated
in it and its time to move forward from estimating such interceptions and start defining and managing them better.
The documenation is extensive and includes the modeling process applied to update models with the best information and better represent
floodplain harvesting, as well as, proposes new rules for Regulated and Unregulated Water Sharing Plans in the region. There are a range of
companion reports on environmental benefits and downstream outcomes and all of the reports are available from the Department's
website.
More information on floodplain havresting in the Gwydir Valley is available on our Floodplain Flow and Licensing page.
There will be an NDrip field day in Wee Waa, on Thursday 28th January from 10:00 to 11:00am. If you are interested in looking at this gravity powered micro-irrigation system, Please RSVP to peter.birch@elders.com or phone 0428.669.157
GVIA digital technologies and automated Irrigation field day is being held on Wednesday 10th February 2021. Our Covid-19 plan required participants to register to attend. Buses will be leaving Reynolds Fogarty at 7:30am please also register for this.
Are you aware of pig damage in your crops or to livestock enterprises, but find it difficult to quantify the extent of the damage, and what
that equates to in dollar terms?
To answer this question, Local Land Services has worked with AgEcon to undertake a study that puts
figures on the real cost of feral pigs on several different enterprises and to compare control options.
Join the LLS online for our first webinar back for 2021. Register here.
When
11 Feb 2021 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dont Forget the GVIA has funds available to support producers in our region with the control of feral pigs. For more information
contact the office; 02 67521399
WaterNSW have announced supplementary access in the Gwydir Valley which shares unregulated flows 50:50 between the environment and water
users. This is following recent localised rainfall below Copeton Dam between 100-200mm with more inflows expected as ungauged inflows are measured. Current announcement between 5-20% depending on on your location equalling approximately 14,000 megaltires. You must
place an eligible water order.
An operations update on current river flows is available from WaterNSW.
Recent localised rainfall in the Gwydir Valley means the region is fortunate enough to have generated local unregulated inflows below
Copeton Dam. The flow rate and volume means localised flooding will occur and moderate and minor flood warnings have been issues for some
sections of the river.
These natural inflows come at a time when general security users are on just 5% allocation and Copeton Dam is at 13%. Current interested
general security users were receiving their allocation in bulk to reduce losses, this has provided connectivity in most sections of the
river.
Our water sharing plan rules set a clear and transparent process to ensure flows for connectivity and our internationally recognised
wetlands, whilst sharing any surplus water to benefit our community, it’s people and it’s economy.
The BOM also provided flood warnings in the Gwydir Valley, on the Gwydir River at Gravesend a minor warning with moderate downstream of
Pallamallawa and minor warning for the Mehi River. Flows are estimated to be above the safe operating level of river infrastructure
and will be largely unmanageable. They will naturally flow towards the watercourse area to peak at this stage Friday evening.
Keep updated via the BOM flood watch and be safe.
If you become aware that your meter is not working or is faulty, it is your responsibility to register using a s.91i self reporting
process within 24 hours . You have 21 days then to have a Duly Qualified Person inspect your meter. This process is also to be used if you have recently
installed an approved local intelligence device (telemetry unit) as per the NSW non-urban Metering Rules and for some reason it is not
connecting to the Data Acquisition Service or functioning correctly.
Provided you have a fully functioning water meter with data logging capability or are keeping appropriate records according to your licence
conditions of water take, time, volume and purpose, you are not required to lodge a s.91i self report to access water ordered during this upcoming bulk delivery, even if you are awaiting final validation of your meter or install of your telemetry according
to the new NSW non-urban Metering rules.
This delivery presents an opportunity for water users with approved water orders, to undertake flow testing and operational checks required to finalise your validation process, please let your DQP know your delivery schedule.
You must keep records of your effort to be compliant by your required deadline according to NRAR's
Compliance Approach and
the proposed industry implementation schedule.
WaterNSW today advised that with low volumes of water available and continued hot, dry conditions, the single block release for 2020/21
general security deliveries in the Gwydir Valley will be brought forward.
The revised dates for the block release from Copeton Dam are:
Releases will commence on Friday 26 November 2020, and
Releases will cease around 24 December 2020.
Orders must be placed prior to 18 December 2020 via iWAS or calling the helpdesk via 1300 662 077. For users West of Moree place your
orders ASAP to help ensure effecient delivery.
As part of the NSW Government's commitment to regulating and measuring floodplain harvesting, changes to the Water Management (General)
Regulation 2018 to include floodplain harvesting requirements are being proposed.
The proposed changes aim to improve the management of floodplain harvesting across NSW and will:
After not being able to plant our irrigation efficiency trial last season due to no water, it is great to now have crops in the ground for this season. The trial will include a look at the new surface drip system from Netafim, a new EnviroNode Farm Automation Controller on the Smart Siphons, the lateral system, the original bankless system and the new fully automated bankless system with Padman Stops auto winches.
The Darling River in the northern basin contributes on average about 14 per cent of the total flow in the River Murray (the southern basin)
at the point where the Darling enters the Murray.
In reality, most years do not deliver an average contribution from the Darling River. Averages mask extreme fluctuations in Darling flows,
which are driven by the ephemeral and dynamic, boom and bust nature of rainfall in the northern Basin.
This means that major changes to inflows from the northern basin have only minor impacts on total Murray inflows. For example, DPIEW
recently stated in an update to stakeholders that a 10% reduction in inflows from the Lower Darling would result in only a 1.4% reduction in total inflows to the River Murray.
The greatest influence on NSW allocations is the flow from the upper Murray catchments.