Water Regulation 2016

The chief executive may declare an area of the State to be a water management area for water not managed under an interim resource operations licence or a resource operations licence.

The declaration may be for—

fixing water charges payable to the chief executive; or

allowing seasonal water assignments and making seasonal water assignment rules; or

prescribing water sharing rules; or

implementing measurement requirements under part 11.

The chief executive may name the area, for example, the ‘Barker–Barambah Creeks water management area’.

An area that is declared to be an underground water area under section 139 is also a water management area.

A water plan or a water management protocol may declare a part of the plan area to be a water management area.

The chief executive must display a map or plan showing the boundaries of a water management area in the department’s regional office in or near the area.

The chief executive must—

give notice of the declaration to the persons authorised to take water from the area; or

publish a notice about the declaration.

Subsection (7) does not apply to a water management area declared under a water plan or a water management protocol.