This group includes pumps 100mm and above and bores 200mm and above. There are also some at-risk groundwater sources and smaller pumps with existing metering conditions. This group covers the Macquarie, Gwydir, Namoi, Border Rivers and Barwon-Darling regions.
There are approximately 9,000 total pumps in the 2021 group. About 5,000 of them appear to be taking or capable of taking water. This group needed to fit accurate meters, local intelligence devices, and tamper evidence seals. They needed to be independently certified by 1 December 2021.
NRAR has met with duly qualified persons (DQPs) across the Northern Inland. We aim to understand and assist in resolving barriers to compliance. We will continue to work with WaterNSW to address system and data challenges.
We are focusing on high-volume works, of which there are approximately 3,200. We estimate that 20 per cent of works account for approximately 80 per cent of total water take.
Although the deadline has passed, we continue to check if the Northern Inland group are following the rules. We do this using both desktop assessments and site inspections.
Through our monitoring of high volume-water users, we understand that most are aware of their metering obligations, and many are attempting to comply with the rules.