purpose of any commercial activity (NSW Department of Industry 2018d). This
means that in times of severe drought, agricultural producers may not receive a water
allocation (such a scenario occurred during Australia’s Millennium drought
1995–2010), creating additional constraints for food and fibre producers who have
to meet ongoing fixed costs of their business. Also, the WSPs provide for the
allocation of water for commercial purposes (including agriculture) in accordance
with specific licence classes (e.g. these licence classes were developed following the
introduction of the NWI and the State’s separation of water rights from land titles,
thereby creating quasi-property rights to water) (NSW Department of Industry
2018d). In an average year, licence holders receive progressive allocations according
to their licence classes which generally start low and increase over the water year
(1 July–30 June) as inflows become more certain. However, in any given year, water
allocations can vary between 0% and 100% of the water licence entitlement share. In
NSW, water licences consist of a share component that is issued in perpetuity and an
allocation that is made against this share every season (NSW Department of Industry
2018e). Both the entitlement share and the allocation can be traded, so that ownership, control and use can change over time. Individual water licence holders can
therefore use their allocation, trade it to other licence holders or transfer it
intertemporally (e.g. carry-over) (NSW Department of Industry 2018f). Carry-over
provisions are not available to all licence categories, and the volume permissible to
carry over is not uniform across NSW (NSW Department of Industry 2018f). The
difference is due to different catchment conditions and access to available storage
space. This divergence in individual WSP is mirrored in other State-based water
regulation and planning instruments, including QLD.
QLD has enshrined its NWI obligations into the Water Act 2000 (QLD) and has
developed 24 water planning areas (Department of Natural Resources and Mines
2017). Water Plans for these areas provide a legal ‘head of power’ as they are
subordinate legislation and apply to surface water and, in some areas, groundwater.
Similar to NSW, the adoption of approaches in each Plan varies depending on local
circumstances. These include expected climate change impacts, the level of development of the water resource and the type of water supply system (e.g. groundwater
or surface water, connected or non-connected system). QLD’s climate variability
means that it is difficult to identify how water resources may be affected over the
timeframe and scale of a Water Plan and, as such, Water Plans are able to respond to
a range of intra-annual and inter-annual variations. The QLD and NSW Governments use a range of hydrological and climate modelling that incorporates historical
climate variability and future projections (where relevant) to determine sustainable
water use and to inform water entitlements and have incorporated adaptive
approaches to manage water resources. The natural expiry (every 10 years) of the
Plans then permits for any readjustments to water entitlements from climate change
to be made whilst providing a period of certainty to the agricultural water user. The
science collected over the life of the Water Plan is essential information for evaluating the effectiveness of implementation and whether a plan is achieving its
outcomes.
7 Water Security: Challenges to the Irrigation Water-Energy Nexus in Australia
93
means that in times of severe drought, agricultural producers may not receive a water
allocation (such a scenario occurred during Australia’s Millennium drought
1995–2010), creating additional constraints for food and fibre producers who have
to meet ongoing fixed costs of their business. Also, the WSPs provide for the
allocation of water for commercial purposes (including agriculture) in accordance
with specific licence classes (e.g. these licence classes were developed following the
introduction of the NWI and the State’s separation of water rights from land titles,
thereby creating quasi-property rights to water) (NSW Department of Industry
2018d). In an average year, licence holders receive progressive allocations according
to their licence classes which generally start low and increase over the water year
(1 July–30 June) as inflows become more certain. However, in any given year, water
allocations can vary between 0% and 100% of the water licence entitlement share. In
NSW, water licences consist of a share component that is issued in perpetuity and an
allocation that is made against this share every season (NSW Department of Industry
2018e). Both the entitlement share and the allocation can be traded, so that ownership, control and use can change over time. Individual water licence holders can
therefore use their allocation, trade it to other licence holders or transfer it
intertemporally (e.g. carry-over) (NSW Department of Industry 2018f). Carry-over
provisions are not available to all licence categories, and the volume permissible to
carry over is not uniform across NSW (NSW Department of Industry 2018f). The
difference is due to different catchment conditions and access to available storage
space. This divergence in individual WSP is mirrored in other State-based water
regulation and planning instruments, including QLD.
QLD has enshrined its NWI obligations into the Water Act 2000 (QLD) and has
developed 24 water planning areas (Department of Natural Resources and Mines
2017). Water Plans for these areas provide a legal ‘head of power’ as they are
subordinate legislation and apply to surface water and, in some areas, groundwater.
Similar to NSW, the adoption of approaches in each Plan varies depending on local
circumstances. These include expected climate change impacts, the level of development of the water resource and the type of water supply system (e.g. groundwater
or surface water, connected or non-connected system). QLD’s climate variability
means that it is difficult to identify how water resources may be affected over the
timeframe and scale of a Water Plan and, as such, Water Plans are able to respond to
a range of intra-annual and inter-annual variations. The QLD and NSW Governments use a range of hydrological and climate modelling that incorporates historical
climate variability and future projections (where relevant) to determine sustainable
water use and to inform water entitlements and have incorporated adaptive
approaches to manage water resources. The natural expiry (every 10 years) of the
Plans then permits for any readjustments to water entitlements from climate change
to be made whilst providing a period of certainty to the agricultural water user. The
science collected over the life of the Water Plan is essential information for evaluating the effectiveness of implementation and whether a plan is achieving its
outcomes.
7 Water Security: Challenges to the Irrigation Water-Energy Nexus in Australia
93