NRAR protects precious groundwater

Water users accessing some of the state’s most fragile groundwater sources will come under extra scrutiny in April when the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) starts a new bore audit program.

The audits will focus on the Lachlan, Lower Murrumbidgee and Namoi regions, including the towns of Tamworth, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Hay, Coleambally, Hillston and Forbes.

Director Regional Water Regulation West at NRAR, Graeme White, reminded water users to check their approvals to make sure they know the rules.

“Many bores have their own extraction limit to protect the fragile underground water source they draw from.

“This is separate from the allocation in a water account.

“The most common misconception is that you can exceed an individual bore extraction limit as long as there is enough allocated in a water account to cover the difference.

“Extraction limits are based on detailed assessments from hydrogeologists examining the impact of taking groundwater from a specific site.

“Groundwater is an unseen water source and people don’t realise that damage may take years to recover,” Mr White said.

NRAR’s pilot program, Operation Drawdown, last year uncovered a handful of instances of non-compliance resulting in prosecutions in Narrabri and Griffith.

A third prosecution recently resulted in two Murrumbidgee landholders ordered to pay fines totalling $17,000 for exceeding bore water extraction limits during severe drought.

"Speaking with water users across the state, we know most want to do the right thing. But often issues arise when water users don’t know the rules,” Mr White explained.

“Bore extraction limits prevent significant harm to neighbouring groundwater users and the environment. It is against the law to take more than the set amount of groundwater from a bore. Penalties may apply.”

Find more information including pathways to compliance on the NRAR website nrar.nsw.gov.au/bore-extraction-limits