With the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s (MDBA) release of new quarterly reports, it has also announced the move toward Water Resource Plans (WRPS) as the “cornerstone” of water compliance.
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Water Resource Plans (WRP) come into effect in July 2019 and will set limits on the amount of water taken and how environmental water will be managed going forward.
The new plans are set to replace existing water sharing plans (WSPS) in the new year. The new plans have drawn frustration from stakeholders and farmers, who say they still don’t know the full effects of WRPS on the community.
Murrami rice farmer Debbie Buller says she feels there has been a delay in the ten-year review of existing water sharing plans because of anticipated roll-out of the new rules.
“Probably the most frustrating thing for our community is that we’re getting these instead of the properly reviewed and updated NSW Water Sharing Plans that we were supposed to have in 2014, that was to take the MDBP and the WRPs into consideration,” she said.
“We’re still waiting four years later. We’re all still waiting to find out what effect these will have on our communities and what the states will finally come up with.”
Acting MDBA Chief Executive, Carl Binning said it’s not enough to have strong compliance regulations, there must be a solid way to measure non-compliance across the entire basin.
“Water Resource Plans (WRPs) will become the cornerstone of compliance from mid-2019 onwards, giving effect to the new legally-binding limits on water take under the Basin Plan. That’s why we will continue to place a high priority on ensuring that states have robust and effective WRPs in place in all catchments,” he said.
“Of course, having strong compliance and enforcement rules and policies in place is not enough – there must also be accurate and reliable ways to detect non-compliance across the entire Basin.”
Around 36 catchment areas are in the process of preparing reports. Each report will lay out the groundwork to ensure each area’s water resources will be managed consistently with the Basin Plan.
“We will continue to push for a ‘no meter, no take’ approach across the Basin, and work to develop remote sensing capabilities and other technologies to better monitor water use.”
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