Canberra
Water rights
Operating rules and constraints
Urban water restrictions
ACTEW Water, with the approval of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government, can impose urban water restrictions on the areas of Canberra and Queanbeyan.
The ACT Government also has in place Think Water, Act Water, which is a long-term strategy for sustainable water resource management and includes incentive programmes and reduction targets that apply to urban areas in the ACT.
Murray–Darling Basin cap
In June 1995, an audit of water used in the Murray–Darling Basin revealed that diversions from rivers had increased by 8% in the previous years and were averaging 10,800,000 ML/year. Subsequently, the Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council introduced a cap on diversions of water from the rivers of the Murray–Darling Basin. The cap aimed to limit the volume of water that could be diverted in any year to that based on the 1993–94 levels of development plus allowances (Murray–Darling Basin Authority 2009). The cap's primary objectives are to increase the health of the Murray–Darling Basin's river systems while maintaining sustainable consumptive use (Australian Government Water Act 2007).
The Murray–Darling Basin cap for the ACT allows the ACT Government and Queanbeyan City Council to divert an average net volume of 40,500 ML/year from surface water sources. The amount of water available to the ACT under these arrangements increases with population growth at a per person rate, although the amount allocated for additional population is discounted 25% to reflect water-use reduction targets set in the ACT Government's Think Water, Act Water strategy.
For New South Wales, the Murray–Darling Basin cap is defined as the long-term average annual amount of water that would be diverted from streams in valleys if the development and management of that valley remained as it was at the end of the 1993–94 season (NSW Office of Water).
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan (Basin Plan), adopted in November 2012, aims to balance the water needs of the environment and other uses, through introducing 29 surface water sustainable diversion limit (SDL) units and 81 groundwater SDL units for the region. Of these units, surface water SDL unit SS1 and groundwater SDL unit GS52 cover the ACT portion of the Canberra region; surface water SDL unit SS15 Murrumbidgee and groundwater SDL unit GS20 Lachlan Fold Belt cover the remaining portion of the region. It is anticipated that the cap on diversion limits set would align with the sustainable diversion limits proposed in the Basin Plan in the coming years.
Water entitlements and other statutory water rights
ACT
A water access entitlement (WAE) is a statutory instrument issued under the Water Resources Act 2007 (ACT) and represents a share of the water resources controlled by the ACT. It is expressed either as:
- a volume, or
- a percentage share of the water available in a defined water management area (WMA) according to the current water sharing plan.
If a WAE is defined as a percentage share of the total water available within the WMA, then the actual volume of this resource may decrease when the total water available is revised. There is no statutory review process for WAEs at present, but this may alter with changes brought about through the Basin Plan. Administrative reviews are currently driven by availability of the water resource, or through assessment of the environmental flow guidelines, which are evaluated every five years.
ACTEW Water holds the main WAE for the purposes of urban water supply to Canberra and Queanbeyan.
The types of WAEs issued by the ACT Environment and Planning Directorate are described in Table A6.
Type of WAE | Description | |
surface water | Specifies the volume of surface water that the holder is entitled to use from a water management area, on an annual basis. | |
groundwater | Specifies the volume of groundwater that the holder is entitled to use from a water management area, on an annual basis. | |
groundwater and surface water | Specifies as a single total the combined volume of groundwater and surface water that the holder is entitled to use from a water management area, on an annual basis. For these types of WAEs, an associated licence may specify the amount that can be extracted as groundwater with the remaining volume being available from surface water. | |
urban water utility | Specifies the volume of water that the holder is entitled to use on an annual basis for the purpose of urban water supply to Canberra and Queanbeyan. |
In addition to the WAE, a licence to abstract water is required. The licence states the location from which water can be abstracted and used, and conditions related to the abstraction and use of that water is controlled by the ACT Environment and Planning Directorate.
Within the ACT, some basic water rights exist that do not require a water licence. These include:
- abstraction of surface water for stock and domestic purposes, which does not require a licence if the water is collected from the lessee's property or where the property directly abuts a waterway
- rainwater harvesting via a rainwater tank installed in accordance with a development approval under the ACT Planning and Development Act 2007, or a tank that is exempt from that Act
- various short-term water uses as detailed in the Water Resources Regulation 2007 (ACT).
NSW
The Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources, under the Water Management Act 2000 which commenced in 2012, covers the area of Canberra region. All NSW surface water licences specify the volume that may be abstracted by the entitlement holder. Each licence has purposes attached to it. These purposes are given a proportion of the overall licence entitlement. These licences are also attached to the land. There was no metering of usage in place for these licences during the reporting period.
Water allocations
All water entitlement holders are entitled to abstract water as specified in the licences subject to environmental flow conditions and unless restrictions are placed on them by their relevant state/territory authorities (authorities include the ACT Environment and Planning Directorate and NSW Office of Water). Restrictions may be placed on water abstractions when the flow is unavailable. For the NSW portion of the Canberra region, water allocation details are given in the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources, under the Water Management Act 2000 which commenced in 2012.
Trades and water rights transfers
Water market rules: interstate trading
ACT
The Water Resources Act 2007 (ACT) allows for interstate trades; however, the required mechanisms are not yet in place for this trading to occur (National Water Commission 2011).
NSW
There are no interstate trades of water permitted in the NSW-administered area of the Canberra region.
Water market rules: inter-valley and within-valley trading
ACT
The Water Resources Act 2007 (ACT) allows for inter–valley trades. WAEs can be traded within and between WMAs; however, water licences cannot be traded. WAE trade between WMAs can only occur if the licence amount in the receiving WMA is not fully developed (National Water Commission, Australia Water Markets Report 2010–11). Groundwater entitlements are tradeable on the same basis as surface water entitlements.
NSW
Inter-valley trading rules are defined in State legislation, water resource plans and the Murray–Darling Basin Agreement.
Within valley trading, rules are also defined in state legislation and water resource plans. Surface water trading within valleys is usually available within regulated systems. Groundwater trading within an aquifer is available in the developed water resource plan.
Restrictions on trade
ACT
ACTEW Water holds the urban water access entitlement from ACT Environment and Planning Directorate without any charge. No trading of this water is allowed.