THE New South Wales Government has extended the public exhibition period for draft water sharing plans across regional areas of the state until early 2025 with the aim of giving communities even more time to have their say.
The time extension includes feedback for a draft plan for Barwon-Darling Unregulated River Water Source.
Residents, farmers, environmental groups, Aboriginal representatives, and other stakeholders can now make submissions until 11.59pm on Friday, January 10 – an extension of three to four weeks, depending on the plan.
A Government statement said the extra effort aims to build on community engagement, which has included 11 face-to-face workshops and seven webinars and appointments where stakeholders can meet one-on-one with a water planner.
The draft water sharing plans seek to set out rules for fair and sustainable water sharing among water users and the environment across the region for the next decade.
It could also include limits on how much water can be taken, protecting resources for the environment, basic landholder rights and cultural needs along with providing secure, legal and tradeable water access rights.
There are also elements about how much, where and when water can be taken by licence holders.
The Government statement said communities’ views on the drafts and proposed changes play a critical role and all feedback will be carefully considered before plans go into effect on July 1, 2025.
For more information on the draft plans visit water.dpie.nsw.gov.au.
