THE lack of information on water theft in NSW is “alarming”, says Member for Mildura Ali Cupper.
She has called on the NSW Government to provide all data on water stolen in the NSW Murray-Darling Basin.
Her comments follow analysis by The Weekly Times, which found total penalty notices issued in NSW’s Murray-Darling catchment had almost tripled in the 2021-22 financial year from the preceding period.
According to The Weekly Times, while Victorian water authorities had reported 5345 megalitres of water had been stolen in 2020-21, the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) did not have access to the NSW figure.
Goulburn-Murray Water and Lower Murray Water, which monitor water compliance along the Murray River, reported in January the number of customers committing water theft and the quantity of water taken had halved from 2019-20 to 2020-21.
Ms Cupper said NRAR’s lack of data on total water theft was an “alarming omission” and called the NSW Government to provide the full data.
“We have a clear picture of what’s happening in Victoria – yet what’s happening in NSW is anyone’s guess,” Ms Cupper said.
“The next step is for the NSW Government to provide the Natural Resource Access Regulator with full and frank data about the total amount of water stolen and where it was stolen from.”
She said that information would allow a more “precise analysis of compliance” and provide a benchmark for the public in NSW and interstate to judge compliance enforcement.
Ms Cupper said the best incentive to improve water compliance was a “no-metering, no-pumping” system, as was first outlined in a 2017 investigation into water compliance in NSW.
The 2017 interim report by Ken Mathews, a former chair of the National Water Commission, found arrangements for metering, monitoring and measurement of water extractions, “especially in the Barwon-Darling” river system, were not at the standard required.
NRAR, which was established following the 2017 report, found in January that 31 per cent of water pumps did not have water meters installed despite its December 2021 deadline.
The deadline, which had been extended from 2020, required water pumps larger than 500mm to have tamper-proof or approved water meters installed.
NRAR said it would begin its monitoring and compliance program for the more than 8000 pumps this month.
