Understanding legislation and policy change
To align the Plan to the Landscape South Australia Act 2019 we are considering:
Separating entitlements and allocations
Under the current Plan a water licence includes:
- A right to take water from the resource.
- Wells and land which water may be taken and used.
- Management area.
- Licence conditions.
- Allocation (annual volume).
- Purpose of use.
It is being proposed to change to a:
Water licence
- Water access entitlement (ongoing share of the resource).
- Wells and land which water may be taken and used.
- Consumptive Pool.
- Management zone.
- Class of entitlement.
- Licence conditions.
Water Allocation
- Annual volume of water.
- Allocation conditions.
This arrangement will support the implementation of an adaptive management framework.
Do you support the proposed splitting of entitlements and allocation?
Introducing consumptive pools
Consumptive pools are the water available for consumptive uses. This includes both licensed and unlicensed uses (e.g. stock and domestic use). Consumptive pools are used where there is a need in the Plan to manage them in different or separate ways.
The following consumptive pools are being considered for the revised Plan:
Confined aquifer consumptive pool
- For licensed and unlicensed consumptive uses.
Unconfined aquifer consumptive pool
- For licensed and unlicensed consumptive uses.
Managed aquifer storage consumptive pool
- Use of water that has been artificially pumped into the aquifer for later extraction.
- Currently no managed aquifer recharge but opportunity for future.
- Alternatively, it could be for water artificially pumped into the aquifer for broader benefit of the water resource.
Environment consumptive pool
- Water for specific purposes that provide additional benefit to natural assets.
First Nations consumptive pool
- Increasing the involvement and influence of First Nations peoples in water management, including accessing, owning and managing water.
- Access to, and use of, water from prescribed
water resources by First Nations peoples is exempt from licensing for the purpose
of social, cultural or spiritual use, provided that the taking does not involve
stopping, impeding or diverting the flow of water for the purpose of collecting
the water or diverting the flow of water from water resources. The Minister has
issued a statewide authorisation to take water for Native Title purposes.
Stock and domestic consumptive pool
- Could be included in the confined and unconfined aquifer consumptive pools.
- Separate consumptive pool creates visibility of the use and accountability for it.
Are you comfortable with the proposed consumptive pools?
The Plan is inconsistent with the Landscape South Australia Act 2019 and supporting regulations.
- The Plan does not define one or more consumptive pools for the water resource as required by section 53(1)(c) of the Act.
- The authorisations to take and use water under the current Plan are together and referred to as ‘allocations’.
Consideration will be given to other policy and legislative inconsistencies.
