What is floodplain harvesting

The government received advice from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment stating it would be an offence for irrigators to take water unless they have a licence and approved irrigation works. That advice presents a significant problem for irrigators who have been taking water since the Upper House disallowed the government's regulations on September 22 last year. It is also a problem for the state's water watchdog the Natural Resource Access Regulator NRAR , which is considering whether it should move to penalise irrigators for taking it.

The NRAR advised irrigators in October last year that they should seek their own legal advice if they were uncertain how they were affected. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Minister's office said the advice only showed the legal status of flood plain harvesting was uncertain and the updated Crown Solicitor's advice was released to Parliament during the disallowance rescission.

Mr Field said the advice was obtained by him through a parliamentary freedom of information request but legal privilege claimed by the government prevented anyone other than Legislative Council MPs from reading it. She believed the amount of water irrigators would get under new licensing arrangements would be much less than they had been taking in the past. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.

Key points: Independent MP Justin Field has accused the NSW government of withholding key legal advice on flood plain harvesting The government confirmed the legal status is "uncertain" but blames Mr Field for opposing regulations to clarify the situation Irrigators are still in limbo until licensing rules are passed on July 1, Why flood plain harvesting might be the fork in the river for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

NSW Government cuts flood plain harvesting, but will it save downstream communities? Floodwater coming, but irrigators may not be able to harvest it legally.

The Policy is being rolled out across the northern Basin valleys. Floodplain harvesting licences and approvals for all five northern basin valleys are scheduled to be in place from July The sections within this guideline explain the processes of issuing and implementing floodplain harvesting access licences and approvals in NSW and managing the take of water associated with floodplain harvesting.

To read further, download the Floodplain Harvesting Implementation Guideline. The policy changes reflect lessons learnt during the initial implementation. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past, present and emerging. Skip to main content. X Alert: We are currently updating our website to reflect Machinery of Government changes to Basin-wide compliance and enforcement.

Read more. Go to search page Search this site. The Basin Plan A plan for the Basin The aim of the Basin Plan is to ensure that water is shared between all users, including the environment, in a sustainable way. Water resource plans Water resource plans are documents that set out how water will be managed in an area. Sustainable diversion limits The Basin Plan sets a limit on how much water can be sustainably diverted within the Basin. Compliance and enforcement Compliance is an integral part of water management in the Murray—Darling Basin.

Monitoring and evaluation Monitoring, evaluation and reporting is critical to understanding whether the Basin Plan is working and on track. Water recovery Water recovery is the water that is being recovered for the environment. Northern Basin projects The northern Basin is a complex network of people and places, industries and organisations with many and varied needs.

Climate variability and change Water management must be adaptive to the uncertain effects of climate variability and change. Groundwater We work together with the states to manage the Basin's groundwater resources. Where is the Basin? Water in the Basin is managed across four states and a territory covering one million square kilometres. How the Basin was formed The Basin is hundreds of millions years old, with landforms seen today taking shape over the last 60 million years.

Environmental importance The Murray—Darling Basin is home to a huge range of species, including many that are rare and endangered, and some that can only be found in Australia. Plants and animals The rivers and lakes of the Basin support unique habitats critical to waterbirds, native fish, reptiles and protected wetlands.

Issues facing the Basin Fish deaths Fish deaths can occur in the Basin and Basin governments work together to protect important native fish species. Salinity Salinity management is a significant environmental challenge for the Basin. Blue-green algae Blue-green algae are naturally occurring organisms found in all types of water. Acid sulfate soils Acid sulfate soils and affected waterways can harm or kill plants, fish and other aquatic organisms.

Blackwater Blackwater is a natural phenomenon where soil and sediment is washed into our waterways. Why the environment needs water The environment needs water to maintain important rivers and wetlands. Water management Common water management terms Complex terminology is used for water management across the Basin.

The NSW government has urged the upper house to pass the legislation quickly because it has had internal advice that the practice may now be illegal, putting some of the biggest agribusinesses at risk of prosecution. The crossbenchers and Labor blocked a makeshift solution earlier this year. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning. Walker was asked to give independent advice to a NSW legislative council committee about whether existing flood plain harvesting was an offence.

He stressed that it was not possible to give definitive advice without having facts to fully explore legality of flood plain harvesting. Email: sign up for our daily morning briefing newsletter.