Water Management Act 2000

This Act is the Water Management Act 2000.

This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

Different days may be appointed for the commencement of a single provision of Schedule 7 or 8 for the purpose of commencing the repeals or amendments effected by the provision on different days.

Schedule 13A commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

The objects of this Act are to provide for the sustainable and integrated management of the water sources of the State for the benefit of both present and future generations and, in particular—

to apply the principles of ecologically sustainable development, and

to protect, enhance and restore water sources, their associated ecosystems, ecological processes and biological diversity and their water quality, and

to recognise and foster the significant social and economic benefits to the State that result from the sustainable and efficient use of water, including—

benefits to the environment, and

benefits to urban communities, agriculture, fisheries, industry and recreation, and

benefits to culture and heritage, and

benefits to the Aboriginal people in relation to their spiritual, social, customary and economic use of land and water,

to recognise the role of the community, as a partner with government, in resolving issues relating to the management of water sources,

to provide for the orderly, efficient and equitable sharing of water from water sources,

to integrate the management of water sources with the management of other aspects of the environment, including the land, its soil, its native vegetation and its native fauna,

to encourage the sharing of responsibility for the sustainable and efficient use of water between the Government and water users,

to encourage best practice in the management and use of water.

Words and expressions that are defined in the Dictionary at the end of this Act have the meanings set out in that Dictionary.

A word or expression (not being a word or expression defined in the Dictionary to this Act) that is used in this Act and that is defined in the Real Property Act 1900 has the same meaning in this Act in relation to an access licence (or holding in an access licence) or dealing in such a licence (or holding) as it has in that Act in relation to land or an estate or interest in land.

Subsection (1A) applies except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires.

Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.

In this Act, overland flow water means water (including floodwater, rainfall run-off and urban stormwater) that is flowing over or lying on the ground as a result of—

rain or any other kinds of precipitation, or

rising to the surface from underground, or

any other process or action of a kind prescribed by the regulations.

Water is flowing over the ground for the purposes of subsection (1) even if it flows over the ground by means of artificial structures such as roads, canals or road gutters.

However, subsection (1) does not include—

water that is collected from a roof (including water collected from a roof using a rainwater tank), or

water that is flowing over or lying on the bed of a river, lake or estuary, or

water flowing over or lying on the ground in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations.

The principles set out in this section are the water management principles of this Act.

Generally—

water sources, floodplains and dependent ecosystems (including groundwater and wetlands) should be protected and restored and, where possible, land should not be degraded, and

habitats, animals and plants that benefit from water or are potentially affected by managed activities should be protected and (in the case of habitats) restored, and

the water quality of all water sources should be protected and, wherever possible, enhanced, and

the cumulative impacts of water management licences and approvals and other activities on water sources and their dependent ecosystems, should be considered and minimised, and

geographical and other features of Aboriginal significance should be protected, and

geographical and other features of major cultural, heritage or spiritual significance should be protected, and

the social and economic benefits to the community should be maximised, and

the principles of adaptive management should be applied, which should be responsive to monitoring and improvements in understanding of ecological water requirements.

In relation to water sharing—

sharing of water from a water source must protect the water source and its dependent ecosystems, and

sharing of water from a water source must protect basic landholder rights, and

sharing or extraction of water under any other right must not prejudice the principles set out in paragraphs (a) and (b).

In relation to water use—

water use should avoid or minimise land degradation, including soil erosion, compaction, geomorphic instability, contamination, acidity, waterlogging, decline of native vegetation or, where appropriate, salinity and, where possible, land should be rehabilitated, and

water use should be consistent with the maintenance of productivity of land in the long term and should maximise the social and economic benefits to the community, and

the impacts of water use on other water users should be avoided or minimised.

In relation to drainage management—

drainage activities should avoid or minimise land degradation, including soil erosion, compaction, geomorphic instability, contamination, acidity, waterlogging, decline of native vegetation or, where appropriate, salinity and, where possible, land should be rehabilitated, and

the impacts of drainage activities on other water users should be avoided or minimised.

In relation to floodplain management—

floodplain management must avoid or minimise land degradation, including soil erosion, compaction, geomorphic instability, contamination, acidity, waterlogging, decline of native vegetation or, where appropriate, salinity and, where possible, land must be rehabilitated, and

the impacts of flood works on other water users should be avoided or minimised, and

the existing and future risk to human life and property arising from occupation of floodplains must be minimised.

In relation to controlled activities—

the carrying out of controlled activities must avoid or minimise land degradation, including soil erosion, compaction, geomorphic instability, contamination, acidity, waterlogging, decline of native vegetation or, where appropriate, salinity and, where possible, land must be rehabilitated, and

the impacts of the carrying out of controlled activities on other water users must be avoided or minimised.

In relation to aquifer interference activities—

the carrying out of aquifer interference activities must avoid or minimise land degradation, including soil erosion, compaction, geomorphic instability, contamination, acidity, waterlogging, decline of native vegetation or, where appropriate, salinity and, where possible, land must be rehabilitated, and

the impacts of the carrying out of aquifer interference activities on other water users must be avoided or minimised.

The Governor may, by order published in the Gazette, establish a State Water Management Outcomes Plan for the development, conservation, management and control of the State’s water resources in furtherance of the objects of this Act.

The objects of a State Water Management Outcomes Plan are as follows—

to set the over-arching policy context, targets and strategic outcomes for the management of the State’s water sources, having regard to—

relevant environmental, social and economic considerations, and

the results of any relevant monitoring programs,

to promote the water management principles established by this Act,

to give effect to any State government policy statement in relation to salinity strategies.

The State Water Management Outcomes Plan must be consistent with—

government obligations arising under any inter-governmental agreement to which the government is a party, such as the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement set out in Schedule 1 to the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth, and

government obligations arising in connection with any international agreement to which the government of the Commonwealth is a party, and

State government policy, including State government policy in relation to the environmental objectives for water quality and river flow.

For the purposes of this section, State government policy includes such matters as are declared by the regulations to be State government policy.

The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the public consultation procedures to be complied with in relation to the establishment or amendment of a State Water Management Outcomes Plan.

A State Water Management Outcomes Plan has effect for the period of 5 years commencing on the date on which it is published in the Gazette.

The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, classify water sources for the purposes of this Act.

Such an order may only be made with the concurrence of the Minister for the Environment.

Water sources are to be classified as follows—

as to the extent to which they are at risk (that is, the extent to which harm to the water source or its dependent ecosystems is likely to occur),

as to the extent to which they are subject to stress (that is, the extent to which harm to the water source or its dependent ecosystems has occurred or is occurring),

as to the extent of their conservation value (that is, the extent to which their intrinsic value merits protection from risk and stress).

It is the intention of Parliament that, within 12 months after the date of assent to this Act—

the water sources of the State be classified in accordance with this section, and

bulk access regimes be established for such of those water sources as are classified high risk, high stress or high conservation value.

A bulk access regime referred to in subsection (4) (b) is to be established by means of a Minister’s plan made, in the case of a water source that is within a water management area for which a management committee has been established, in consultation with that committee.

A bulk access regime referred to in subsection (4) (b) has effect for 10 years from the date on which it is established, but may be varied under section 45 as if it had been established by a management plan, in which case section 87 applies accordingly.

The regulations may prescribe rules in accordance with which water sources are to be classified for the purposes of this Act.

For the purposes of this Act, environmental water comprises the following—

water that is committed by management plans for fundamental ecosystem health or other specified environmental purposes, either generally or at specified times or in specified circumstances, and that cannot to the extent committed be taken or used for any other purpose (planned environmental water),

water (licensed environmental water) that is—

committed by an adaptive environmental water condition under section 8B, 8C, 8D or 63B, or

taken or permitted to be taken under a licence of an environmental subcategory, or

taken or permitted to be taken under a licence of a class prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

A management plan is to commit water as planned environmental water in at least 2 of the following ways (whether by 2 separate ways or a combination of 2 ways)—

by reference to the commitment of the physical presence of water in the water source,

by reference to the long-term average annual commitment of water as planned environmental water,

by reference to the water that is not committed after the commitments to basic landholder rights and for sharing and extraction under any other rights have been met.

A management plan must contain provisions for the identification, establishment and maintenance of planned environmental water (environmental water rules). The environmental water rules relating to a water source do not need to specify that a minimum quantity of water is required to be present in the water source at all times.

Environmental water rules are to be established for all of the water sources in the State as soon as practicable after the commencement of this section.

(Repealed)

The Minister may cancel any category or subcategory of licence prescribed by the regulations that is held by the Minister and commit an equivalent amount of water as determined in accordance with the management plan as planned environmental water for the water source to which the licence related.

Planned environmental water committed under this section is to be used for only those purposes specified in the relevant management plan.

Sections 78, 78A and 87 do not apply to the cancellation of an access licence under this section.

The holder of an access licence may request that the Minister impose an adaptive environmental water condition in respect of the whole or a part of the access licence.

A condition imposed under this section may be amended, and is to be revoked, by the Minister at the request in writing of the holder of the access licence, except as provided by the regulations.

The Minister may grant an access licence of a category or subcategory determined by the Minister to the Minister, Local Land Services or another public body, without the need for an application to be made for the licence in accordance with Part 2 of Chapter 3, so long as—

works or other actions result in water savings in the system being made in the water source in respect of which the licence is granted, and

the share component of the licence is equivalent to the value of water savings in the system made, and

an adaptive environmental water condition is imposed on the licence.

In this section, system means that part of a water source to which a management plan applies that is not identified by the plan for commitments to basic landholder rights and for sharing and extraction under any other rights.