Please find included the link to the NSWIC December newsletter.
The GVIA work closely with the NSWIC to ensure we are able to advocate as strongly as possible for our members. This partnership will
continue into 2025, and we thank our members for supporting the NSWIC through their levees.
Issues covered in the newsletter include: Water pricing, the National Water Agreement, WSP and MDBA Constraints roadmap.
Included is the link to the 7 News regional from Thursday 9th January, where NSW National Party leader Dougal Saunders and Macquarie Food and Fibre Executive Officer Michael Drum talk about the implications from the proposals to add hundreds of newly prescribed wetlands into unregulated Water Sharing Plans across the state.
The media talks about lack of consultation with landholders, implications for property sales and valuations and the use of remote sensing to identify the sites in question. It raises the need for compensation where there are impacts to landholders ability to run their
businesses.
1 x 38 ML (megalitres) of Lower Gwydir Groundwater allocation for sale. You can bid in price/megalitre by emailing gvia@gvia.org.au before
5pm Thursday 30th January 2025. The buyer will be required to cover the WaterNSW application and dealing fees and the GVIA transaction fee
of $55.00 (Inc GST). Please note as of July 2024, there have been changes to the process for tiaging and assessing groundwater temporary
trades. More
information is available here.
6 January 2025: WaterNSW advises customers on the Gwydir River below Tyreel Weir that demand may exceed channel capacity in mid-January and
throughout the remainder of the irrigation season.
Water demand on the Lower Gwydir recently exceeded delivery capacity, resulting in temporary water delivery shortfalls in lower reaches of
the Gwydir.
Customers are encouraged to extract water only at ordered rates and only ordered volumes.
Whilst current water orders and subsequent delivery forecast does not indicate a return to demand exceeding delivery capacity in the
immediate future, it is anticipated that delivery constraints will occur throughout late January and early February 2025.
Rostering of available channel capacity will occur if a return to demand exceeding available capacity occurs as was last experienced in
January 2018.
For account enquiries please contact 1300 662 077.
More information: Visit WaterInsights to view announcements and sign up for notifications at waterinsights.waternsw.com.au. Issued by: Water Operations North
Today the MDBA have released the Constraints Relaxation Implementation Roadmap. Constraints relaxation were identified as a necessary component to enhance environmental outcomes from water recovery in the original Basin Plan. They were the driving force behind schedule 5
Enhanced environmental outcomes to increase the volume of water resources available for environmental use by 450 GL per year. There will be
challenges for producers in our region. The roadmap states:
"New South Wales is also at an advanced stage in the planning of constraints relaxation implementation in the Gwydir. Engagement with
stakeholders and landholders has identified key issues to delivery that mean full implementation will likely extend beyond December 2026.
The Australian and NSW governments are working together to rescope the Reconnecting Watercourse Country Program to ensure tangible outcomes
are delivered to relax system constraints in the Gwydir by December 2026. In April 2025, NSW will provide an options assessment report to the Commonwealth identifying the preferred delivery option for a rescoped program."
The Draft Gwydir unregulated Water Sharing Plan includes 327 newly prescribed wetlands. If you have one of these on your property, or
neighbouring your property you may wish to put in a submission to the NSW government raising your concerns.
The included template is an example of what you might like to use
in your submission to the NSW Government. Please replace the text highlighted yellow with your thoughts for the wetland you are concerned
about. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact the GVIA on 02 6752 1399.
Anyone can put in a submission, these are due on the 2nd of February 2025.
The following link provides a number of documents, including an interactive map regarding the water sharing plan and the wetlands.
The department are hosting a webinar on the wetlands on Monday 9th December, You can register
here.
The DCCEEW will be hosting a webinar on the draft Water Sharing Plan for the Gwydir Unregulated River Water Sources 2025.
This webinar on Tuesday 19th November 2024 from 12 noon will cover the following topics:
the draft water sharing plan
the public exhibition details, and
how to make a submission.
A question-and-answer session will be held at the end of the webinar. Please include your questions when you register
at the link below.
Alternatively email your questions to wspconsultation@dpie.nsw.gov.au.
There will also be a meeting in Bingara on Wednesday 27th November 2024. Register
hereRead More
WaterNSW pricing proposal to double cost of rural water
Rural water users in NSW could see their costs more than double over the next five years if IPART accepts the WaterNSW pricing proposal released today.
NSW Irrigators’ Council CEO Claire Miller said pricing proposal recommends hiking water bills by 21-24% every year for five years, adding up
to $40,000 to a ‘typical’ farmer’s water bill by 2030.
“NSWIC is alarmed by this proposal and urges stakeholders across industries to understand the implications. Many stakeholders are not fully
informed about the proposed prices, leaving them at risk of being unprepared until it is too late,” Ms Miller said.
This month’s focus is on Water Sharing Plans, what they are and why we need them. The presentation will cover how water sharing plans
are remade and outline which inland plans are due to be remade by 1 July, 2025 and how you can comment on the proposed
changes.
Speakers from the Water Group at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water include:
Peter Hyde, Director Inland Water Planning
Antonia Morrow, Senior Advisor, Water Engagement team
Included is the NSW Irrigators Council September Newsletter. This includes commentary on;
Concerns raised by the Inspector-General for Water Compliance in an audit of DCCEEW, (federal) protocols to prevent insider trading on its
Bridging the Gap (BTG) water buyback.
The release of the latest round of water buybacks under Bridging the Gap, aimed at recovering water to meet Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs) in the Condamine-Balonne and NSW Border Rivers.
The National Water Agreement which introducers a range of concerning proposals under the 302 principles that the federal government is trying to rush though before the next election.
The National Ag Rally - and the complete lack of consultation with farmers in areas which are critical to the sustainability of the industry
- our Chair Jim Cush joins the 1-2,000 at the front of parliament house.
The National Farmers Federation (NFF) is holding a farmer rally in Canberra to highlight the key issues impacting on Australian agriculture and its communities -- including the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. If you cannot make the rally NFF have a petition
going.
The MDBA published the 2022-23
Sustainable Diversion Limit Accounts
on 2 August. It shows water use across the Basin was 23 per cent below the 2022-23 SDLs, continuing the pattern of chronic and
persistent water underuse since the 1994 Cap.
In NSW Basin valleys, water use was 16.6 per cent, or 1105 GL, under the state's SDLs for 2022-23. The Gwydir diverted 26%, or
214.5GL less than its 2022-23 SDL.
Several other valleys were also well under, including:
Barwon-Darling diverted 34 per cent, or 155 GL, less than its 2022-23 SDL.
NSW Murray diverted 25 per cent, or 342.6 GL, less than its 2022-23 SDL.
Macquarie-Castlereagh diverted 27 per cent, or 231 GL, less than its 2022-23 SDL
Since accounting began on 1 July 2019, water use across the Basin has consistently remained below the SDLs, accumulating a 5076 GL credit in
unused water
Read More
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