Frequently Asked Questions

Who is responsible for Resource Allocation and Policy?

The NSW Office of Water (NOW) are the water resource manager and policy maker. They develop natural resource management policy frameworks and conduct activities related to water management, water quality, salinity, soils, vegetation and environmental sustainability. NOW also prepares Water Sharing Plans as the basic water resource policy document for catchments across the State. State Water delivers water in accordance with these Water Sharing Plans.

What are Water Sharing Plans?

Water Sharing Plans determine the water sharing rules for river catchments and groundwater zones – ie how much water goes to users and how much to the environment. Water Sharing Plans have been gazetted in eight regulated river valleys; Gwydir, Namoi, Macquarie, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Murray-Lower Darling, Hunter and more recently, Border Rivers. Water sharing rules are clearly stated in the Water Sharing Plans, including the environmental flow rules for each valley.

What are Water Licences?

Water licences, the right to a certain ‘share’ of water, are issued by NOW. There are three types of licence – High Security (guaranteed when water available, eg local government for town water supply or permanent plantings) General Security (not guaranteed, eg irrigation licences) and Supplementary (previously known as Off Allocation and in some areas High flow).  Licences state a share component in megalitres or shares that determines the amount of water available to licences during the year through Available Water Determinations.

What are Available Water Determinations?

At the start of each “water year” (1 July) , NOW determines how much water is available for use in each valley. All essential requirements (in most cases, two years’ supplies for towns and other high security requirements) are reserved first. Any water remaining is then allocated to water users as a percentage of entitlement. This percentage is known as the Available Water Determination (AWD). It used to be called the allocation announcement.

The AWD is the volume of water available to licence holders for that year. For example, if a licence is for 1,000 megalitres and NOW announces a 0.75ML/share AWD, the licensee can only use 750 megalitres during the year. Additional AWDs are announced during the year if more water becomes available.

Who is responsible for delivering water?

The responsibility for delivering allocated water to licensees lies with State Water Corporation. To deliver this allocated water, State Water manages and maintains, a portfolio of assets, including dams and weir structures. State Water receives water orders from customers and coordinates releases from the dams to meet these orders. To ensure efficient delivery of water to all customers, State Water coordinates water ordering, collects water usage figures, uses water-use modelling and monitors river and dam levels to enable real-time response. State Water also plays a key role in coordinating and managing flood operations.

Why do I have to order water?

In order to calculate daily releases from dams across the state, customers are required to place water orders in advance, based on lag days. Lag days is the term used to describe the number of days it takes for a required release to travel from the dam to the pump site.

The Water Management Act 2000 specifies that water orders are a legal requirement. Failure to order water is in breach of licence conditions and compliance action can be taken.

How do I order water?

You can order water in a number of ways.

  • Phone - 1300 662 077 and supply your access licence number and work approval

How do I lodge a Water Trade?

You can lodge your water trades via email to water.trade@statewater.com.au or fax to (03) 8668 1154. Click on the link to download an application form.