Geoff Steendam, Office of Water,

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Incorporating farm dams and other interception
activities in the policy framework for Victorian
catchments

• Geoff Steendam, Office of Water,
• Dept of Sustainability and Environment

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Overview

• Definitions - interception activities
• History of policy development
• Current policy framework
• Policy responses processes, information,
  considerations

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What do we mean by interception activities?
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What do we mean by interception activities?
Source MDB Sustainable Yields Project, CSIRO
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What do we mean by interception activities?

• Hydrologists generally use a different
  definition of interception being the initial
  rainfall loss from wetting up vegetation
• Generally referring to activities that are
  primarily for human needs or private benefit,
  rather than environmental purposes
• Growth in the impact of interception activities
  is generally of most interest when considering
  policy changes
• Activities that impact on downstream water
  availability that are outside capped
  consumptive entitlements
• NWI examples
• farm dams and bores
• intercepting and storing of overland flows and
• large-scale plantation forestry.

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What do we mean by interception activities?

• Capped entitlements - limit on the volume of
  entitlements issued Eg,
• Permissible consumptive volumes
• Sustainable diversion limits
• Murray Darling Basin cap
• Water Resource Planning Framework Eg,
• Water Supply Protection Areas (covered by
  Streamflow and Groundwater Management Plans)
• regional Sustainable Water Strategies.

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History of land use change

Source Mansergh et. al. 2005 Victorias
natural capital
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History of policy development
require licences for diversions from water
courses (1958) require licences for groundwater
extractions for commercial or irrigation use and
bore construction (1969) extend licensing from
watercourses to waterways (including floodways)
and introduce the ability to manage water supply
protection areas (1989) extend licensing to all
irrigation and commercial farm dams and introduce
the concept of permissible consumptive volumes
(2002).
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History of policy development
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(No Transcript)
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Current policies farm dams, bores
water harvesting activities outside the licensing
regime 1. extraction of groundwater for
domestic and stock purposes 2. collection of
water in a farm dam (not on a waterway) for
domestic and stock purposes 3. diversion of
water from a waterway for domestic and stock
purposes by the owner or occupier of adjacent
land 4. diversion of water from a publicly
accessible waterway for domestic and stock
purposes (where no works are required).
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Overview

• Definitions - interception activities
• History of policy development
• Current policy framework
• Policy responses processes, information,
  considerations

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Policy responses - approach
risk based approach, AS4360
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Policy responses - approach
Establish the context
Identify risks
Analyse risks
Communicate and consult
Monitor and review
Evaluate risks
Risk assessment
Treat risks
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Policy responses NWI

• National Water Initiative (NWI) paragraphs 55 -
  57
• NWI para 56
• The intention is therefore to assess the
  significance of such activities on catchments and
  aquifers, based on an understanding of the total
  water cycle, the economic and environmental costs
  and benefits of the activities of concern, and to
  apply appropriate planning, management and/or
  regulatory measures where necessary to protect
  the integrity of the water access entitlements
  system and the achievement of environmental
  objectives.

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Policy responses - considerations

• Scale is important - need to assess risk at
  different scales.
• Cumulative impacts of different interception
  activities
• Focus is on managing impacts of activities.
• Impacts on different parts of the flow regime
  including under different future climates.
• Information for Government community a lot of
  information to interpret.
• Stakeholder involvement in decision making

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Policy responses - considerations
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Policy responses Vic processes

• Sustainable water strategies (Northern Region SWS
  currently underway)
• Other regulatory processes approvals processes,
  Water Supply Protection Areas
• Long term water resource assessments
• Intergovernmental processes MDB Risks Strategy,
  COAG actions.

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Policy responses studies, tools

• MDB Sustainable Yields project
• Vic Land Use Change Project
• Vic DPI/DSE Catchment Analysis Tool (CAT)
• TEDI/CHEAT farm dams
• Sustainable Diversion Limits licensing
  unregulated streams
• Geoscience Australia project (level of farm dam
  development growth)
• Vic Bushfire impact work

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Vic Land Use Change Project

• Project is now moving into policy development
  phase.
• Key questions
• - under what conditions should government
  intervention occur?
• what types of interventions?
• flexibility of policy approach given the
  uncertainties
• Policy development will include consultation
  with people it is going to impact.

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Bendigo weekly, 8/8/08
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Bendigo weekly, 8/8/08
Bendigo advertiser, 12/8/08
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Bendigo weekly, 8/8/08
Macedon Ranges Guardian, 15/8/08
Bendigo advertiser, 12/8/08
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Policy responses - considerations
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Policy responses - considerations