Irrigators in the coastal regions of the state may be given an extension to comply with non-urban metering rules if recommendations from a review are accepted.
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In August the Review of the NSW non-urban metering framework was released, and among its recommendations was the need to amend the regulation to extend the temporary metering exemption for larger volume coastal works from 1 December 2024 to 1 December 2026.
According to the Review this move will prioritise resources towards high risk works across the state and larger volume water users in the Murray-Darling Basin, which are already required to have a meter.
The purpose of the review, which was established in 2023 following backlash from water users, was to identify ways to accelerate the implementation of the NSW non-urban metering reforms by identifying practical changes to the rules that will help deliver the reform faster than the current trajectory, create opportunities to reduce costs, make the rules easier to understand, implement, comply with, and enforce and make the system work more efficiently.
The Review states that approximately 40% of licensed water take in NSW is not yet measured in compliance with the metering reforms.
"While the majority of licensed water entitlement in NSW is held by a relatively small proportion of water users, best available data indicates that around 9,000 works associated with entitlements of 100 ML or greater do not yet have accurate, reliable and tamper-evident meters in place," it states.
Accordingly it has recommended that metering compliance should start first with larger volume and high-risk water users to ensure they are compliant as soon as possible. It has recommended removing prescriptive measurement requirements for smaller and low-risk water users, a move that would speed up implementation and ensure that Duly Qualified Persons (DQPs) can focus on the larger, higher-risk water users who represent the majority of water take.
Water users in the Hunter and Mid North Coast will no doubt welcome the recommendation to delay the implementation of new metering regulations by two years for all works nominated by total entitlement of 100ML(and under 500ML), and three years for all works nominated by total entitlements of over 15 and under 100ML.
Many irrigators in those regions had raised concerned with the complexity of the new regulations, the costs involved installing new pumps and meters, and the fact they could not find anyone trained DQPs to install the new meters.
This situation was exacerbated when it came to smaller volume water users, in particular those who only accessed water during periods of prolonged dry weather.
In their submission to the Review the Hunter Valley Water Users Association (HVWUA) who represent more than 500 water user members from the Hunter region noted the current metering policy does not meet its objective to minimise undue costs on smaller water users.
"Currently, a large number of Hunter water users,,use electric meters to measure water taken from regulated and unregulated water sources. This has been a reliable, fit for purpose and inexpensive method of tracking water use, and still requires water users to meet the recording and reporting rules for "all non-metered works." their submission said.
"HVWUA also notes that inland NSW had the opportunity for water users to apply for government assistance in installing meters and telemetry. No such program has existed on the coast, yet the same rules apply statewide. We suggest a grant or subsidy program to assist water user along the NSW coast."
Paterson Valley dairyfarmer David Williams also raised the costs of the new compliance rules in his submission saying the requirement for larger (coastal) users alone to install telemetry metering is perceived as unjust, costly, and impractical.
"Unjust, as most significant users have consistently adhered to proper ordering and accounting practices, while many small users fail to do so, particularly during dry periods when river systems are most strained," he said.
"The requirement is costly for coastal farms with multiple pumps but moderate usage, leading to a financial burden disproportionate to their water usage. In my case, installing metering for four pumps is estimated to cost over $50,000, with ongoing maintenance costs due to the high flood risk in the area."
NSW Water held public information sessions earlier this month to discuss the Review's recommendations.
