1.3.3.1 Description


The total number of economic water‑dependent assets in the preliminary assessment extent (PAE) of the Namoi subregion is 168 (comprising 10,497 elements). This includes 1516 surface water access entitlements and 8981 groundwater access entitlements with total share components of 632,077 and 420,690 ML/year respectively. Share components are a specified share or volume of water that can be extracted within a specified water management area. Total share components include basic landholder rights described in water sharing plans (WSPs) (NSW Department of Primary Industries, 2014). These data indicate a much stronger reliance on surface water than on groundwater in the PAE of the Namoi subregion.

All economic elements, assets and total share component data were sourced from NSW Office of Water including:

Within the asset database, every water access right and basic water right (stock and domestic) is an element and elements are grouped by type and spatial location to create assets (see Section 1.3.1.2).

Water access entitlements for surface water and groundwater include basic landholder rights described in the WSPs which are also classed as ‘Basic water right (stock and domestic)’. Table 14 and Table 15 show the breakdown of water access entitlements (economic elements) for surface water and groundwater in the PAE of the Namoi subregion.

Further economic assets were identified during the Gunnedah workshop, these included (i) water access rights that do not require a works approval and therefore do not include a specific location and (ii) surface water storages used for floodplain harvesting. Water access rights that do not require a works approval have been included in the water‑dependent asset register by assigning the water access right to the water source polygon. Water access rights without corresponding work approvals were identified as follows:

  • one water access right (166 ML/year) without a corresponding work approval located in the Upper Namoi Zone 4 Namoi Valley (Keepit Dam to Gin’s Leap) Groundwater Source
  • sixty-eight water access rights (93,450 ML/year) without corresponding work approvals located in the Gwydir Regulated River Water Source (93,450 ML/year). These sixty-eight water access rights have been amalgamated to one element and one asset
  • thirty-five water access rights (6,409 ML/year) without corresponding work approvals located in the Lower Namoi Regulated River Water Source. These thirty-five water access rights have been amalgamated to one element and one asset.

Floodplain harvesting water storages are in the process of being digitised by the NSW Office of Water and were not available for inclusion in the water‑dependent asset register at this time. There are 88 economic surface water assets and 80 economic groundwater assets within the PAE of the Namoi subregion. Table 14 shows the number of elements and assets for each category of economic asset within the Namoi water‑dependent asset register. The locations of the elements are shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9 and the locations of the assets (i.e. the grouped elements) are shown in Figure 10 and Figure 11. Where known, groundwater bore depth is recorded in the asset database. The median bore depth is 36 m, with a maximum of 1200 m, so most water bores tap shallow alluvial groundwater systems (less than 150 m). The PAE of the Namoi subregion is covered by eight groundwater management units (hydraulically connected groundwater systems defined and recognised by state and territory agencies; often included in legislation). These groundwater management units and their water sharing plans are discussed in Section 1.1.4.3 (Groundwater regulation and management) in companion product 1.1 for the Namoi subregion (Welsh et al., 2014).

Table 14 Classification of economic elements to create economic assets in the Namoi asset database


Subgroup

Class

Number of elements

Number of assets

Groundwater management zone or area (surface area)

A groundwater feature used for water supply

0

0

Water supply and monitoring infrastructure

0

0

Water access right

1,937

26

Basic water right (stock and domestic)

7,044

54

Groundwater total

8,981

80

Surface water management zone or area (surface area)

A surface water feature used for water supply

0

0

Water supply and monitoring infrastructure

0

0

Water access right

1,459

35

Basic water right (stock and domestic)

57

53

Surface water total

1,516

88

Total

10,497

168

Dataa: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 2, Dataset 5), NSW Office of Water (Dataset 4, Dataset 3), Bureau of Meteorology (Dataset 6)

aThe asset database (Bioregional Assessment Programme, Dataset 1) is a collation of all these source datasets.

Table 15 Total share components for groundwater and surface water access entitlements


Subgroup

Total share component

(ML/y)

Total share component

(ML/y)

Groundwater management zone or area (surface area)

420,690

420,690

Surface water management zone or area (surface area)

632,077

632,077

Total

1,052,767

1,052,767

Dataa: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 2, Dataset 5), NSW Office of Water (Dataset 4, Dataset 3), Bureau of Meteorology (Dataset 6)

aThe asset database (Bioregional Assessment Programme, Dataset 1) is a collation of all these source datasets.

Figure 8

Figure 8 Location of surface water elements in the preliminary assessment extent of the Namoi subregion

Data: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 1, Dataset 2), NSW Office of Water (Dataset 3, Dataset 4)

Figure 9

Figure 9 Location of groundwater elements in the preliminary assessment extent of the Namoi subregion

Data: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 1, Dataset 5), NSW Office of Water (Dataset 4), Bureau of Meteorology (Dataset 6)

Figure 10

Figure 10 Location of surface water access right and basic water right assets in the preliminary assessment extent of the Namoi subregion

Data: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 1, Dataset 2, Dataset 5), NSW Office of Water (Dataset 3, Dataset 4)

Figure 11

Figure 11 Location of groundwater water access right and basic water right assets in the preliminary assessment extent of the Namoi subregion

Data: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 1, Dataset 5), NSW Office of Water (Dataset 4), Bureau of Meteorology (Dataset 6)

Last updated:
6 December 2018