About the plan
The rules for floodplain harvesting licences were included in the water sharing plan for the Macquarie and Cudgegong Regulated River Water Source on 29 July 2022.
Public exhibition of the rules ran from 22 March to 18 April 2021.
The licensing framework for the Macquarie and Cudgegong Regulated River Water Source commenced on 1 March 2023.
For information on how the department has complied with requirements for determining replacement floodplain harvesting licences under the Regulation, refer to the fact sheet:
Consultation
The department held a face-to-face meeting in Warren on 23 February 2023 to communicate with landholders on requirements, obligations and to answer questions on the licensing and measurement framework, in advance of allocations being credited to floodplain harvesting access licences on 1 March 2023.
In 2022, the department also held a public webinar, face-to-face public meetings in the Macquarie Valley area, and a series of targeted consultation events with specific stakeholder groups. All stakeholders were provided with information about the implementation of the NSW Floodplain Harvesting Policy and water sharing plan rules for floodplain harvesting licences in the Macquarie Valley.
The consultation process
Find out more about the consultation process.
Read presentations, watch webinar recordings and read reports and summaries about consultation sessions on our outcomes from the consultation page.
Reports
The department developed the technical reports to help inform the development of the draft floodplain harvesting licensing rules in the Macquarie Valley.
Report to assist community consultation
The Macquarie: Floodplain harvesting in water sharing plans – Report to assist community consultation (PDF, 590.43 KB) report aims to assist the community in understanding the proposed types of rules for floodplain harvesting access licences in the Macquarie Valley. It also provides a summary of the other four technical reports and explains the interaction between the rules, modelling, and the expected environmental benefits once they are put in place.
Modelling reports
The NSW Floodplain Harvesting Policy requires that individual entitlements in regulated river systems will be informed by a capability assessment that considers the works used for floodplain harvesting and the opportunity to access floodplain flows based on location and climatic variability. This capability assessment is undertaken through river system models.
Building the river system model for the Macquarie Valley regulated river system describes the development of the Macquarie Valley river system model. The model was developed using multiple lines of evidence and best available industry data. The report provides evidence and assessments to demonstrate that the model is fit for purpose.
Floodplain Harvesting Entitlements for Macquarie Cudgegong Regulated River System: Model Scenarios Report describes how the model of the Macquarie Valley was used to estimate the baseline diversion limit, and to subsequently estimate individual floodplain harvesting entitlements.
The modelling reports for the Macquarie Valley have been independently peer-reviewed.
These reports were updated on 9 September 2022.
Environmental outcomes report
Harvesting of water from floodplains reduces the volume, frequency and duration of floods and can change the timing of flood events, impacting the health of floodplains and downstream waterways. The NSW Floodplain Harvesting Policy will provide a more sustainable level of water diversions from the floodplain.
Hydrological metrics for native fish, floodplain native vegetation, waterbirds, key ecosystem functions and wetlands were modelled for two scenarios. Implementation of the policy is predicted to provide minor environmental improvements in the Macquarie Valley.
Environmental outcomes of implementing the Floodplain Harvesting Policy: Macquarie Report provides a detailed assessment of the likely benefits for the environment of implementing the policy in the Macquarie Valley.
Environmental outcomes of implementing the Floodplain Harvesting Policy: Macquarie growth in general security scenario report provides a detailed assessment of the likely benefits for the environment of implementing the policy in the Macquarie Valley if general security use grows to the legal limit and floodplain harvesting diversions need to be reduced.
View a summary of the environmental outcomes predicted for the Border Rivers, Gwydir, and Macquarie valleys below:
Downstream effects report
Modelling has shown that total water use, including floodplain harvesting, is within legal limits in the Macquarie Valley. This means there will be no reductions in current take and little environmental benefits from any foregone diversions.
The report of the modelled downstream effects of licensing floodplain harvesting that quantifies the potential downstream impacts of increased flows was not updated at the time of consultation for the Macquarie Valley, given the limited environmental benefits from any foregone diversions. A downstream effects report has been updated for consultation on the draft floodplain harvesting licensing rules in the Barwon-Darling Valley in June 2022 and includes information about the Macquarie Valley.
Independent peer review
The modelling reports for the Macquarie Valley have been independently peer-reviewed.
A further focussed independent review of the modelling of floodplain harvesting diversions for several properties was undertaken in August 2022.
What we heard
The What we heard report summarises the feedback the NSW Government received during the public consultation sessions and from written submissions for the Macquarie Valley.
In addition to the final rules detailed in the What we heard report (PDF, 765 KB), an additional rule has been proposed that acknowledges the connectivity between the Barwon-Darling Valley and the northern inland tributary valleys, and ensures flows are temporarily protected from floodplain harvesting following a dry period. [link to new page that has been combined with nsw-legislative-council-inquiry-into-floodplain-harvesting] More information on this rule[/link].
Download the What We Heard report
Submissions
The Macquarie Submissions Report (PDF, 445.02 KB) details the submissions received via the online platform. Please note only submissions where approval was given to publish have been included. Written submissions or attachments with additional information can be found below.
Written submissions with additional information
- Submission 1: Australian Floodplain Association
- Submission 2: Bathurst Community Climate Action Network
- Submission 3: Central West Environment Council
- Submission 4: Inland Rivers Network
- Submission 5: Nature Conservation Council
- Submission 6: Anonymous
- Submission 7: Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Defenders Office
- Submission 8: NSWIC
- Submission 9: NTSCORP
- Submission 10: NSWFA
Contact us
If you require assistance in reading these documents, please contact 1300 081 047 or water.enquiries@dpie.nsw.gov.au