Water Licensing
Water supply work and water use approvals
Water supply work approvals
A water supply work approval authorises its holder to construct and use a specified water supply work at a specified location. Approvals cannot be traded to another property or location.
Approvals may be granted by the Department of Water and Energy to construct and operate water supply works such as pumps, bores, spearpoints or wells and to use water for a particular purpose, such as irrigation. Approval/s that replace the former Water Act 1912 licences will reflect the water supply works that were authorised by those licences.
Each approval includes conditions to minimise adverse impacts.
Water use approvals
A water use approval may authorise the use within NSW of water taken from a water source outside NSW. Approvals cannot be traded to another property or location.
Approval/s that replace the former Water Act 1912 licences will reflect the water use/s that were authorised by those licences.
Activities subject to approvals under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 do not require water use approval from the Department.
Each approval includes conditions to minimise adverse impacts.
Applying for a water use or water supply work approval
DWE Application form: Approval for water supply works, and/or water use (PDF 351KB)
DWE Application form: Approval to construct a basic landholder rights (domestic and stock) groundwater works (PDF 152KB)
An approval is required to use water on land for all purposes except when exercising basic landholder rights.
You also need approval to construct and use all water supply works to:
- extract water from a river or groundwater body (via a pump or bore)
- capture more rainwater run-off than your harvestable right (in a farm dam)
- store water taken from a river or aquifer (in tanks or off-river storages)
- convey water to another location via irrigation channels
- divert water away from an area (via banks or levees, includes floodplain banks)
- hold back water in a river (via a weir or in-river dam)
To simplify water management for individual properties, if both a water supply work approval and a water use approval are required then these are combined into a single, combined approval.
The application forms require information to assess whether the work may have significant impacts on the environment or whether particular conditions to minimise any impacts may be required.
Application fees for water supply works and water use approvals vary, depending on the type of work. Go to Fees and charges for more information on these fees or contact a DWE water licensing officer.
Are there exceptions?
When taking water under your basic landholder rights (eg for domestic and stock purposes) you do not need a water use approval.
You do not need a water supply works approval for:
- pumps, pipes, troughs or tanks to take and store water from a river for basic landholder rights
- farm dams within the maximum dam capacity under the harvestable rights for your property
- conveyance works, provided they are located wholly within land that is subject to a water use approval
However, you still need a water supply works approval to construct a dam in a defined river or to construct a bore, well, spearpoint or excavation under the domestic and stock right.
Other works may be exempt under the Water Management (general) Regulations or NSW Planning Legislation
Applying for domestic and stock groundwater works approvals
What is my domestic and stock right?
If your land is above an aquifer, you are entitled to take groundwater for domestic consumption and/or for stock watering. This is called your basic landholder (or domestic and stock) right. While you do not need a water access licence to take this water, you do need a water supply works approval to construct the bore, well, spearpoint or excavation.
Water taken under domestic and stock rights may be used around the house and garden and / or for drinking water for stock. It cannot be used for irrigating fodder crops for stock, washing down in a dairy or machinery shed, intensive livestock operations (such as feedlots, piggeries or battery chickens) or for any commercial purposes (including caravan parks or bed and breakfast accommodation) other than for the personal use of the proprietors or employees.
What is not covered by this application?
If you wish to also construct a dam to store the groundwater extracted, you will also need a separate application for the construction of that dam. If both applications are approved, a single water supply works approval will be granted covering both the bore and dam.
If you want to apply for a water supply works approval for a domestic and stock bore, use the Application for approval to construct a basic landholder rights (domestic and stock) groundwater works (PDF 152KB).
For other works and water use the Application for approval for water supply works and/or water use under section 92 of the Water Management Act 2000 (PDF 350KB).
Aspects to consider before lodging an application for an approval
A pre-application meeting with a licensing officer is recommended to discuss the proposed activity, likely impacts, the application process and the information required. The pre-application meeting is a free service. To arrange for a meeting, call your local Department of Water and Energy Office.
Applicants also need to demonstrate that they have secure tenure over the land where the work is to be located or where the water is to be used. Secure tenure includes:
- ownership, or anticipated ownership within a reasonable time of submitting your application
- an easement
- permissive occupancy, lease or licence
- a right under the Water Management Act 2000 to enter land in the case of Irrigation Corporations, Private Irrigation Districts and Trusts
What happens after DWE receives the application?
Applications will be assessed according to the Department's assessment procedures and guidelines. Applications for the following types of approvals may need to be advertised by the Department (Applications subject to Integrated Development under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 do not require advertising):
- works taking water from river
- bores (other than those solely for basic landholder rights)
- works that impound water in a water source eg in-river dams and weirs
- works constructed and used to capture rainwater run-off
- water use such as irrigation.
The Deprtment will either determine to grant this application with appropriate conditions or refuse it. Applicants will be advised in writing of the determination and, if granted, a water use or water supply works statement will also be issued.
What are the key features of the approval statement?
The main features on the statement are:
- Types of Approval: The approval may be for water supply works or water use, or a combined approval for both works and use.
- Expiry date: Water supply works and water use approvals are issued for up to 10 years.
- Water Use: Lists the land where water may be used and the purpose for which water may be used, eg irrigation.
- Authorised water supply works: Lists the work type, the parcel of land where the work is located, the water source and zone from which the work extracts or captures water.
- Nominated works: Identifies the water access licence/s linked to the work for the purpose of taking water.
- Conditions: Each water supply works and water use approval has conditions specified in relevant water management plans (eg. local water sharing plan). The approval may also have conditions that are specific to the particular approval and location.
What happens after I receive my water supply works approval?
The approval will allow you to construct a work up to a certain capacity or size and at a specified location described in the approval.
If the water supply works approval is for a bore, the construction work must be carried out by a driller with a valid and appropriate licence. You should sight the driller's licence as proof before you engage them. They are required to carry their licence with them.
You must provide the driller with a copy of the water supply works approval so that they are aware of any special condition/s.
The Department strongly advises that a written agreement (contract) be obtained from the drilling contractor for the work to be undertaken.
The driller must construct the bore to the minimum requirements set out in guidelines developed by the National Groundwater Committee, Minimum Construction Requirements for Water Bores in Australia (listed under 'inland waters' publications at www.environment.gov.au).
On completion of the bore, the Department recommends conducting a single rate pumping test for a minimum period of six hours. A pump test will allow determination of the safe yield, optimum pump rate and pump depth for the bore.
After the bore has been constructed, you must obtain a completed DWE 'Form A' (details of the location of the bore on your property from the driller, construction details of the bore, as well as information on the quality of the bore water). You must send the Form A to the Department, together with any other additional information required in the water supply works approval, within two months of completion of the bore.
Approval for clearing vegetation for water use
If you need to clear native vegetation for water use, an approval from the Department of Environment and Climate Change is required. For more information visit www.environment.nsw.gov.au/vegetation/nvmanagement.htm.