What are harvestable water rights?
NSW Water allows owners or occupiers of land to collect 5% of all rain that falls on their land, and store this rainfall in dams on the property.
This legislation affects the size of dams that landholders can construct on their land.
The water captured in a harvestable rights dam cannot be supplied to any other property.
Bigger dams in the future?
The NSW Government is now reviewing this old legislation, and may increase the landholders rainfall capture rights from 5% to 100%
Contact usConclusions to date
100
percentage benefit to firefighters having more water availble to fight fires
100
percentage benefit to local businesses and farm based businesses
Benefits
The following benefits of increasing harvestable rights have already been identified
Rural firefighting services would benefit if more water was stored in farm dams close to bushland
There are valuable industries in coastal-draining catchments that could benefit from, or be impacted by, the ability to store more water in harvestable rights dams.
Your feedback can be provided on the Department’s website before the decision is made
Give your feedback
MEETINGS ARE TAKING PLACE
The NSW Government through the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is undertaking a review of harvestable rights for all coastal-draining catchments.
They are reviewing a proposal to increase the volume of water landholders can capture in farm dams as a basic right, without the need for a licence or approval.
The review is exploring the potential benefits and impacts of increasing the harvestable rights percentage, as well as allowing harvestable rights dams on third-order streams.
They are looking at the affect this change will have on:
- availability of water for downstream water users
- water trading market
- availability of water for the environment
Since 2006
Harvestable Rights legislation
The current harvestable rights orders have been in place since they were passed by legislation in 2006
Find out more details about the review from the NSW Government website
nsw government website