Water Management
Water management charges for licensed water users
Water management charges are set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) and generally apply to all water licences issued in NSW. These charges are intended to recover a proportion of the costs incurred by the Department of Water and Energy (DWE) for providing water management services, including managing the quantity and quality of water available to water users. These services are essential to protect the health of the State's freshwater resources and ecosystems and to ensure water can be made available to water users and the environment on a timely and sustainable basis into the future.
Water management charges are payable annually in arrears. State Water invoices licence holders on the Department's behalf. Charges are applied to a water user's licensed entitlement, as well as to the volume of water extracted where a consumption-based tariff is in place.
State Water also charges for its own water storage and delivery services provided in regulated river systems. Visit State Water for information on these charges.
The charges shown in the following tables are effective for the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008, and apply to the major categories of water access licences issued under the Water Management Act 2000 and water licences under the Water Act 1912. Charges for 2008-09 may vary slightly and will be increased according to the consumer price index.
Separate charges are set for each water source and river valley or aquifer, reflecting the different types and complexities of water management activities undertaken.
Regulated river water management charges
Regulated river water management charges are the higher of either a $60 minimum charge or one of the following:
- for high security and general security licence holders, an access charge based on entitlement (or share component) plus a usage charge based on water consumed during the year as shown in Table A below, or
- for high flow or supplementary water access licence holders, a usage charge only as shown in Table A below
| Table A: Regulated river water management charges | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regulated river valley | Access charge $/ML of entitlement or $/unit share |
Usage charge$/ML |
| Border | $1.31 | $1.53 |
| Gwydir | $0.73 | $0.86 |
| Namoi | $1.14 | $1.36 |
| Peel | $1.10 | $1.99 |
| Lachlan | $0.91 | $1.04 |
| Macquarie | $0.83 | $1.12 |
| Murray | $1.32 | $0.35 |
| Murrumbidgee | $0.99 | $0.26 |
| North Coast | $2.19 | $1.47 |
| Hunter | $1.15 | $1.14 |
| South Coast | $2.18 | $1.46 |
Unregulated river water management charges
Unregulated river water management charges are the higher of either a $60 minimum charge or one of the following:
- for licence holders without an entitlement, the area based access charges shown in Table B
- for licence holders with an entitlement but without a meter, the entitlement based access charges shown in Table B
- for licence holders in the Far West valley with a Water Act entitlement not reduced under the Barwon Darling Cap Management Strategy, the area based access charges shown in Table B
- for licence holders with an entitlement and a meter (and who elect to be charged for metered usage), an access charge based on entitlement plus a usage charge based on water consumed during the year shown in Table C
- for licence holders without an area or entitlement whose usage is metered, a base charge plus a usage charge shown in Table D.
| Table B: Non metered usage with and without entitlement | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unregulated river valley | Access charge | |
| Without entitlement $/ha |
With entitlement $/ML of entitlement or $/unit share |
|
| Border, Gwydir, Namoi and Peel | $10.66 | $2.61 |
| Lachlan and Macquarie | $15.48 | $4.34 |
| Far West | $19.16 | $4.09 |
| Murray | $10.91 | $3.63 |
| Murrumbidgee | $12.20 | $5.79 |
| North Coast | $19.16 | $4.87 |
| Hunter | $15.11 | $3.56 |
| South Coast | $15.10 | $3.23 |
| Table C: Metered usage with entitlement | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unregulated river valley | Access charge $/ML of entitlement or $/unit share |
Usage charge $/ML |
| Border, Gwydir, Namoi and Peel | $1.57 | $1.03 |
| Lachlan and Macquarie | $2.62 | $1.73 |
| Far West | $2.49 | $1.60 |
| Murray | $2.18 | $1.45 |
| Murrumbidgee | $3.47 | $2.32 |
| North Coast | $2.94 | $1.93 |
| Hunter | $2.14 | $1.42 |
| South Coast | $1.93 | $1.29 |
| Table D: Metered usage without entitlement | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unregulated river valley | Base charge | Usage charge $/ML or $/unit share |
| Border, Gwydir, Namoi and Peel | $127.37 | $1.78 |
| Lachlan and Macquarie | $127.37 | $2.14 |
| Far West | $127.37 | $2.65 |
| Murray | $127.37 | $1.36 |
| Murrumbidgee | $127.37 | $1.94 |
| North Coast | $127.37 | $2.65 |
| Hunter | $127.37 | $2.10 |
| South Coast | $127.37 | $2.09 |
Groundwater water management charges
Groundwater water management charges are the higher of either a $60 minimum charge or one of the following:
- for licence holders in monitored groundwater areas, a base charge of $118.56 plus the access and usage charges shown in Table E below
- for licence holders in non monitored groundwater areas, a base charge of $51.46 plus the access charge shown in Table E below.
| Table E: Groundwater water management charges Monitored and non monitored areas |
||
|---|---|---|
| Groundwater area | Access charge $/ML of entitlement or $/unit share |
Usage charge $/ML |
| Border, Gwydir, Namoi and Peel | $1.50 | $0.74 |
| Lachlan and Macquarie | $2.10 | $1.09 |
| Far West | $2.70 | $1.35 |
| Murray | $1.92 | $0.97 |
| Murrumbidgee | $1.03 | $0.51 |
| North Coast, Hunter, South Coast | $2.70 | $1.35 |
Cap on unregulated river and groundwater bills
In both unregulated rivers and groundwater systems, the 2006 IPART Determination provides for no individual bill to increase on an annual basis by more than 20 per cent plus consumer price index, for the same volume of water consumption.
Where can I get more information?
For billing enquiries, contact State Water on t: 1800 353 091.
For other enquiries, contact the water licensing officer at your local Department of Water and Energy office or the business manager on (03) 5898 3900.
For a copy of the 2006 IPART determination which applies from 2006/07 to 2009/10, visit IPART's website.