Landholders in the Lachlan Valley are being urged to review the draft water sharing plan for the Lachlan unregulated river, with the deadline for comment extended to the new year and extra information on new areas identified as wetlands.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment has released the draft of the 10-yearly review of the plan, which sets out the rules for water sharing among water users and the environment across the region.
This is for unregulated river water sources such as the Mandagery Creek, Lake Forbes and Back Yamma Creek, Goobang and Billabong creeks along with other waterways outside the Lachlan regulated river system.
The timing of the plan's release had frustrated Lachlan Valley Water chair Tom Green, with the original deadline before Christmas leaving farmers under pressure to review the plan in the midst of the busy harvest season.
Mr Green said Lachlan Valley Water had been asking about the plans for Lachlan unregulated as well as the Belubula for about nine months now.
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"How do they expect this to be done when there’s been no prior consultation," Mr Green said.
"There can be detail in there that you miss and the lines in the sand get moved forever."
Landholders and other stakeholders have now been given until January 10 to give feedback on the plan and further time on one of the key areas of interest: the identification of 291 additional prescribed wetlands in the area.
Maps of these are available under supporting documents on the website.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water said they had added an extra submission period for comments on rules for prescribed wetlands, until 11.59pm on Sunday 2 February 22, 2025, after listening to community feedback.
For more information on the wetlands, they encourage the community to register for a webinar on Monday, December 9 from 12.30-1.30pm.
The session will outline the new rules, how they may impact landholders, and the method used to identify prescribed wetlands within a plan area.
Lachlan Valley Water is asking for "ground truthing" of these wetlands, which are marked in yellow on maps released by the department with the draft plan. Existing prescribed wetlands are marked in pink.
"It’s fine if there are wetlands but you’ve actually got to check that they are, and what they are, instead of just using a mapping tool," Mr Green said.
The department is also hosting a webinar on the draft plan from 2pm on November 28 where the community can learn more, ask questions and provide feedback.
Giselle Howard, NSW Executive Director of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, says water sharing plans are vital tools for managing our state’s water resources.
“We want to hear your feedback on the draft plan now so we can continue to manage the region’s water fairly and sustainably over the next 10 years," Ms Howard said.
“We want a plan that works well for the Lachlan region, which means continuing to protect basic landholder rights, cultural needs and water for the environment, as well as setting limits on how much water can be taken to help ensure our rivers, aquifers and waterways remain healthy and resilient for the next generations."
Face-to-face drop-in sessions will be held in Cowra on December 4 and Crookwell on December 3 between 10am and 12pm.
One-on-one calls can be booked until December 13: please email wspconsultation@dpie.nsw.gov.au and specify your plan area in your response.
To register for a session and to make a submission, visit: https://water.nsw.gov.au/lachlan-water-sharing-plan
