Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
legislation. A couple of examples illustrate the range of matters covered and
the degree of detail included. Following on from our discussion of Australia's
national water policy in chapter 2, Schedule E to the
National Water Initiative
outlines a guide to the contents of water plans and planning processes, as
shown in Box 3.2. In South Australia, legislation prescribes the processes that
must take place in making a water resource plan, and the contents of the plan
itself, as shown in Box 3.3.
Box 3.2: National Water Initiative (Australia) guide to content
and process for water planning
1 Descriptions to include:
O
the water source or water sources covered by the plan (i.e. its
geographic or physical extent);
O
the current health and condition of the system;
O
the risks that could affect the size of the water resource and
the allocation of water for consumptive use under the plan, in
particular the impact of natural events such as climate change
and land use change, or limitations to the state of knowledge
underpinning estimates of the resource;
O
the overall objectives of water allocation policies;
O
the knowledge base upon which decisions about allocations
and requirements for the environment are being made, and an
indication of how this base is to be improved during the course
of the plan;
O
the uses and users of the water including consideration of
Indigenous water use;
O
the environmental and other public benefit outcomes proposed
during the life of the plan, and the water management
arrangements required to meet those outcomes;
O
the estimated reliability of the water access entitlement and rules
on how the consumptive pool is to be dispersed between the
different categories of entitlements within the plan;
O
the rates, times and circumstances under which water may be
taken from the water sources in the area, or the quantity of water
that may be taken from the water sources in the area or delivered
through the area; and
O
conditions to which entitlements and approvals having effect within
the area covered by the plan are to be subject, including monitoring
and reporting requirements, minimising impacts on third parties
and the environment, and complying with site-use conditions.
2 Where systems are found to be overallocated or overused, the
relevant plan should set out a pathway to correct the overallocation
or overuse.
