The recommendations lay out clear and practical ways to boost compliance rates and ensure water extraction is being measured and managed fairly across the state.
To speed up the roll-out, the NSW Government is proposing changes to the Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 that will:
• Simplify metering requirements for smaller and low-risk water users;
• Establish a classification system for work approvals so that only those works taking licensed water are required to be metered;
• Extend compliance deadlines for smaller water users and most coastal water users;
• Address the shortage of duly qualified persons (DQPs) for meter installation and improve training opportunities;
• Extend meter re-validation timeline from five to 10 years after initial installation and every five years thereafter; and,
• Make floodplain harvesting measurement more practical and water use more flexible while ensuring all water take is appropriately measured.
The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said these changes aim to put the state on track to have 95 per cent of all licensed water take metered by the end of 2026 - about a decade sooner than previously projected.
It is also expected to help the NSW Government make faster progress towards its Murray-Darling Basin Compliance Compact commitments.
It comes after the NSW Government conducted a comprehensive review of the current program in 2023, identifying several roadblocks to compliance.
NSW DCCEEW Director of Metering and Licensing Dan Connor said these included a statewide shortage of qualified personnel to install meters, inconsistent or inflexible metering rules, challenges with emerging technologies, and high costs for smaller users.
While they were progressing with a clear ‘no measurement, no pump’ approach, the reforms were unlikely to achieve comprehensive coverage until at least 2040, which is unacceptable.
“These changes are a huge step forward, enabling us to accelerate metering compliance across the state,” he said.
“Measuring water take is critical to managing water fairly and sustainably, and we’re keen to get on with the job to make sure every drop is accounted for.
“We want to support water users on their path to compliance and remove as many hurdles as possible.
“These changes aim to better protect our precious water resources and ensure fair and sustainable water management for the people of New South Wales.”
NSW DCCEEW will host two online webinars - from 12pm to 1pm on Thursday, November 21 and Tuesday, December 3 - where people can ask questions and provide feedback before the public exhibition period closes on December 8.
“We will carefully consider all feedback before the Regulation is amended in early 2025,” the department said.
For more information, go to https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/our-work/nsw-non-urban-water-metering/review-of-the-non-urban-metering-rules.
