What’s Next in the Review Process?
Review of the 2001 Water Allocation Plan for the Tatiara Prescribed Wells Area
Groundwater in the Tatiara Prescribed Wells Area is currently managed through the 2001 Tatiara Water Allocation Plan (WAP). The review and amendment of the 2001 Tatiara Water Allocation Plan (WAP) is currently underway. A first community consultation (A1 consultation) on issues and options for the review of the WAP was carried out in September 2005. The second, non-statutory consultation (A2 consultation) was held during November 2007. The statutory (B Consultation) is being planned for March 2009..
Why is the review taking place?
Water Allocation Plans are required to be reviewed every five years under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004 (the NRM Act). The review includes updating the condition of the groundwater resource to determine whether it is being used sustainably, and modifying the management of the resource accordingly. As a result, community involvement and comment is a vital part of the WAP review process. All feedback and submissions received will be considered by these SE NRM Board in the review and amendment of the Tatiara WAP.
Groundwater management in Tatiara– what’s being proposed?
This current WAP review incorporates a number of different requirements from the NRM Act and National Water Initiative (NWI), including providing for the conversion of area-based water allocations to volumetric water allocations, and addressing over-allocated management areas to bring them back within environmentally sustainable levels of extraction. The information sheets provide more information on the policies being proposed for the management of groundwater in the Tatiara Prescribed Wells Area (PWA).
The Tatiara Water Allocation Planning Committee
The Tatiara Water Allocation Planning Committee was formed in April 2007. The Committee is composed of a cross-section of community members and Board and Department of Water Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC) staff, and provides advice and options for management of the resource to the Board. The Committee plays a key role in providing the Board with a balanced and researched review of options and recommendations of water allocation and water resource management to address sustainability issues specific to the Tatiara Prescribed Wells Area.
The Committee, which is chaired by SE NRM Board member, Jim Osborne, is comprised of the following members:
Michael Allen
Scott Campbell
Sarah Cunningham
James DeBarro
John Fry
Bruce Hunt
Ted Ridgway
Kym Staude
The Tatiara WAP Committee recently met to review the B Consultation Draft WAP, which is to be taken to the Operational Policy and Legislation team of the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation in early May. The Committee also developed additional recommendations to be taken to the May Board meeting in relation to irrigation efficiency and compliance issues.
A2 Consultation
An informal drop-in information session was held at Mundulla on 13th November 2007. The purpose of the session was to enable community members to clarify the proposed issues and options up for review. Both the SE NRM Board and Department of Water Land and Biodiversity Conservation staff were available to discuss issues one-on-one and provide further information.
There were A2 Consultation meetings held at Bordertown and Keith on 21st November 2007. Issues discussed at the meetings included information from the following information sheets (see download links at bottom of page).
• Unconfined Aquifer Condition and Extraction Limits in the Lower Tatiara Prescribed Wells Area
• Volumetric Allocations and Shares of the Resource
• Volumetric Allocations and Water Trading
• Volumetric Allocations and Seasonal Variability
A report of all of the comments made at the meetings was sent out to all meeting attendees in February (see link below). In addition, all those who sent in written submissions received a written reply outlining the Board’s response to their comments.
Review of the Feedback from the A2 Consultation
During January, the SE NRM Board staff compiled all of the feedback recorded at the community consultation meetings and received through written submissions. The Board reviewed this feedback at a special workshop held on February 4. At this workshop the Board reviewed every comment made and developed recommendations to be taken to the formal Board meeting on February 22.
On February 22 the Board met and reviewed the recommendations made at the February 4 Board Workshop, and developed resolutions.
Tatiara WAP Review Newsletter
The SE NRM Board recently developed a newsletter (see download links at bottom of page) that was sent to licensees in the Tatiara PWA in March. The newsletter provided some clarification regarding issues raised during the A2 Consultation, as well as giving an update of the process to date and the next steps in the review.
What’s Next in the Review Process?
- Operational Policy and Legislation team of the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation to review B Consultation Draft WAP
- SE NRM Board to Review B Consultation Draft WAP
- Review of B Draft WAP by the Minister for Environment and Conservation
- B Consultation to be held
- Review of feedback from B Consultation meetings and written submissions
- Minor amendments of B Consultation Draft WAP
- Adoption of WAP by Minister for Environment and Conservation
- Implementation and conversion of allocations to volumetric and commencement of reduction in allocation