Water Management (Exemption) Order 2003 (TAS)

Water Management (Exemption) Order 2003

I make the following order under section 11 of the Water Management Act 1999 .15 December 2003

BRYAN GREEN

Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment

1Short titleThis order may be cited as the Water Management (Exemption) Order 2003 . 2CommencementThis order takes effect on the day on which its making is notified in the Gazette. 3InterpretationIn this order – Act means the Water Management Act 1999 ; Commission means the Rivers and Water Supply Commission, continued in existence under section 4 of the Rivers and Water Supply Commission Act 1999 . 4ExemptionSubject to the conditions set out in clause 5 , the Commission is exempt from the requirement to hold a licence under section 54 of the Act to take water from the Coal River, Cascade River, Prosser River and Galeford Creek for the purposes of town water supply, stock and domestic use or irrigation. 5Conditions on exemptionThe exemption of the Commission is subject to the following conditions: (a) the Commission must not release more than 12,600 ML from the Craigbourne Dam in any one year to be used for irrigation, town water supply and stock and domestic use, of which not more than 100 ML is surety class 1 water for town water supply and stock and domestic use, not more than 5,400 ML is surety class 5 water and not more than 7,100 ML is surety class 6 water; (b) the Commission must maintain sufficient flow in the Coal River below Craigbourne Dam and passing the Richmond Weir to – (i) meet the requirements of any owner or occupier with entitlements from the Coal River under section 48(2) of the Act and any licensee under the Act; and (ii) ensure it meets the terms of any relevant existing agreements; (c) the Commission must make available to the Minister, or his or her delegate, accurate rating tables for the Craigbourne Dam outlet and the Richmond Weir by 31 July in every year commencing in 2004; (d) the Commission must not divert more than 5,400 ML of water from the Cascade Dam in any one year, of which not more than 100 ML is surety class 1 water for town water supply and stock and domestic use, not more than 3300 ML is surety class 5 water and not more than 2,000 ML is surety class 6 water; (e) the Commission must ensure that no water is taken for irrigation from the Cascade Dam if the storage capacity of the dam is less than 200 ML; (f) the Commission must not divert more than 500 ML of water from the Prosser River in any one year to be used for town water supply purposes of which not more than 364 ML is surety class 1 water and not more than 136 ML is surety class 5 water; (g) the Commission must not divert more than 139 ML of surety class 5 water from Galeford Creek in any one year to be used for stock purposes; (h) the Commission must provide the following information to the Minister, or his or her delegate, when required by an authorised officer or, if not so required, on the second Tuesday in October, January, April and July each year: (i) the volume of water released each day from the Craigbourne Dam; (ii) the volume of water extracted each month from the Coal River; (iii) the volume of water flowing over the Richmond Weir each day; (iv) the volume of water diverted each day from the Cascade Dam; (v) the volume of water diverted each day from the Upper Prosser Dam; (vi) the volume of water diverted each day from the Lower Prosser Dam; (vii) the volume of water diverted each day from the Upper Galeford Creek Dam; (viii) the volume of water diverted each day from the Lower Galeford Creek Dam; (i) not later than 31 July each year, the Commission must provide to the Minister, or his or her delegate, the following information (as a continuous record if possible), for the preceding 12-month period ending 30 June, in a format suitable for storing electronically on the Department’s surface water database: (i) the outflow from the Craigbourne Dam; (ii) the flow over the Richmond Weir; (iii) the volume of water diverted from the Cascade Dam; (iv) the volume of water diverted from the Upper Prosser Dam; (v) the volume of water diverted from the Lower Prosser Dam; (vi) the volume of water diverted from the Upper Galeford Creek Dam; (vii) the volume of water diverted from the Lower Galeford Creek Dam; (viii) spot sample water quality data in accordance with paragraph (j) ; (j) in respect of each storage referred to in paragraph (i) , the Commission must conduct and record water quality spot sample tests on a monthly basis throughout the year directly above each storage and as close as practicable to the storage’s outlet pipe, for the following parameters: (i) pH; (ii) temperature; (iii) dissolved oxygen; (iv) turbidity; (v) electrical conductivity; (vi) the presence of blue/green algae; (k) the Commission must operate the storages referred to in paragraph (i) in accordance with the "Guidelines for the Management of Blooms of Blue/Green Algae in Freshwaters in Tasmania", published by the Department, and industry best-practices for algal bloom management; (l) the Commission must comply with any dam storage draw-down and release regimes that are required to maintain dependent aquatic ecosystems within, and downstream of, the dam as specified by any relevant water management plan under Part 4 of the Act; (m) the Commission must not, without the written permission of the Minister, significantly alter the Commission’s historical operating regimes for a storage referred to in paragraph (i) so as to have a demonstrable adverse impact on other water users or the environment.

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 31 December 2003

This order is administered in the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the order) This order provides for the exemption of the Rivers and Water Supply Commission from the requirement to hold certain water licences under