Glossary

Use Purposes

Irrigation
Use of water for growing grasses, non-permanent crops, perennial crops and permanent plantings. It includes citrus plantings, grape vines, horticulture and pecan nuts.

Town water supply
Use of water for town water supply purposes only. This includes water for residential, commercial, industrial and public uses including the watering of parks and gardens.

Power Generation
Use of water in power generation stations. It includes only the use of water in the actual power generation plant itself. Note that hydro power generation does not require a water use approval but may require a water supply work approval.

Work Type Categories

Conveying works
Works used for the purpose of conveying and distributing water diverted from a water source.

Diversion works
Any work which takes water from a surface water source.

Extraction works
Any work which takes water from an aquifer.

In-river Dams
A dam on a 3rd, 4th or higher order river.

Storage - off-river
Any work constructed for the purpose of storing water which is supplied by a water supply work or by any means other than natural flows.

Runoff harvesting Dam
A farm dam on a hillside, flat or 1st or 2nd order stream which collects and stores rainfall runoff.

Storage - general
Any work constructed for the purpose of storing water supplied by natural flows. Can be either in-river, off-river or run-off harvesting

Incidental structures
Any work constructed constructed incidentally to a storage, diversion, conveying or extraction work that may interrupt/effect the passage of water into or from a water source.

Miscellaneous Terms

Water Management Areas
The state of NSW is divided up into water management areas.

Approval Types
Initially there are three types of approval:

  1. WA - a water supply works approval
  2. UA - a water use approval
  3. CA - a combined water supply works / water use approval
Other types of approval will be available at a later date once the relevant provisions of the Water Management Act 2000 are commenced.

Water Sources
A water source can be any set of rivers, aquifers, lakes etc which are defined by a gazetted water sharing plan to be a water source. A water access licence is fundamentally a right to a share of the available water in a specified water source.

Water access licence categories
Water access licences have different categories which have characteristics set out in water sharing plans and the Water Management Act itself.

Water access licence (WAL) numbers
This is the identification number for an access licence which is shown on the licence certificate or on a search printout of the licence obtained from the access licence register run by Land and Property Information.

Water access licence reference numbers
This is a additional reference number for a water access licence which has been establish during the interim period while access licences are loaded onto the access licence register run by Land and Property Information

Water allocation assignments
Each water access licence has a water allocation account which records the actual water allocations (in megalitres) which accrue to the licence annually or at other intervals, as well as the use of that water through water supply works.
It is possible for licence holders to assign water allocations in a licence account from one licence to another. To give effect to this the water allocation account of one licence is debited by a volume and the water allocation account of the receiving licence is credited by that volume.
This dealing has no permanent effect on the licence itself. It only affects the current water allocations available to the licence holders. It is very similar to 'temporary transfers' which apply to licences under the Water Act 1912.