REGIONAL WATER SECURITY PROGRAM Greater Hunter regional water strategy Securing the future water needs of the Hunter, Central Coast and Mid-Coast areas industry.nsw.gov.au Published by NSW Department of Industry Greater Hunter regional water strategy—Securing the future water needs of the Hunter, Central Coast and Mid-Coast areas First published November 2018 INT18/139403 More information Harris, E; Bird, L Regional Water Strategies Team, Lands and Water Division NSW Department of Industry industry.nsw.gov.au Acknowledgments Thanks to the staff of NSW Department of Industry, in particular Lands & Water Division, NSW Department of Primary Industries —Agriculture and NSW Department of Planning and Environment – Resources and Geoscience. NSW Department of Industry—Lands & Water would like to acknowledge the significant contributions from Infrastructure NSW, Department of Premier and Cabinet, WaterNSW, Hunter Water Corporation, AGL Macquarie and the major stakeholders within the Greater Hunter region who have contributed to the development of this strategy. © State of New South Wales through Department of Industry 2018. You may copy, distribute, display, download and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you attribute the Department of Industry as the owner. However, you must obtain permission if you wish to charge others for access to the publication (other than at cost); include the publication in advertising or a product for sale; modify the publication; or republish the publication on a website. You may freely link to the publication on a departmental website. Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (September 2018) and may not be accurate, current or complete. The State of New South Wales (including the NSW Department of Industry), the author and the publisher take no responsibility, and will accept no liability, for the accuracy, currency, reliability or correctness of any information included in the document (including material provided by third parties). Readers should make their own inquiries and rely on their own advice when making decisions related to material contained in this publication. While every effort has been made and due care has been taken for the report’s data, maps and figures, NSW Department of Industry—Lands and Water does not guarantee that the information is free from errors, omissions or inaccuracies, or that the level of detail reflects the observable on an individual property scale. The map products are included to give visual support to the facts and discussion presented within the report. The maps and figures may have a scale at which data has been mapped that is not represented in this document. The maps and figures may be displayed at a greater level of accuracy than the original data acquisition may have intended. NSW Department of Industry—Lands & Water advises that information presented in this document is the best available information at the time of compilation and should be used as a general guide and not as the sole basis on which resource allocation and infrastructure investment decisions are made. The Crown will not accept responsibility for the result of any actions taken on the basis of information presented in this document. Due to rounding there may be discrepancies in tables and with figures within the text. This may result in minor differences between actual data and rounded numbers and may include discrepancies in percentages. Greater Hunter regional water strategy Contents Summary ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Part 1: Development of the strategy .............................................................................................................. 5 Part 2: The Greater Hunter region .................................................................................................................. 9 History of Indigenous communities .............................................................................................................. 11 The importance of the region to NSW .......................................................................................................... 11 Part 3: The water management framework.................................................................................................. 16 The framework ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Types of surface and groundwater .............................................................................................................. 19 Interactions between water types ................................................................................................................ 21 Water storage and delivery .......................................................................................................................... 22 Water entitlements....................................................................................................................................... 23 Water-sharing plans .................................................................................................................................... 27 Part 4: Environment and water quality ........................................................................................................ 29 Planned environmental water ...................................................................................................................... 32 Environmental baseline ............................................................................................................................... 32 Water quality ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Part 5: Water use and drought management .............................................................................................. 36 Current water use ........................................................................................................................................ 37 Droughts—operation and management ....................................................................................................... 40 Part 6: The water trading market .................................................................................................................. 44 Trends in movement of water between sectors ............................................................................................ 45 Trading of water .......................................................................................................................................... 47 Effectiveness of the market ......................................................................................................................... 52 Part 7: Major risks and drivers ..................................................................................................................... 55 Identifying the major risks ............................................................................................................................ 55 Future drivers .............................................................................................................................................. 57 Quantifying the major risks and benefits ...................................................................................................... 63 Part 8: Key findings and actions for implementation ................................................................................. 72 Glossary of terms ............................................................................................................................................ 76 References ..................................................................................................................................................... 79 Appendix 1: Water entitlements ...................................................................................................................... 81 Appendix 2: The water trade market ............................................................................................................... 83 Appendix 3: Simulated hydrological drought assessment using historical records ........................................... 89 Appendix 4: Statistical hydrological assessment ............................................................................................. 97 Appendix 5: Multi-criteria assessment ........................................................................................................... 105 NSW Department of Industry | INT18/139403 | i Greater Hunter regional water strategy List of tables Table 1. Strategies and actions ......................................................................................................................... 3 Table 2. Issues and risks raised by the community ........................................................................................... 8 Table 3. Gross value irrigated production against total production .................................................................. 14 Table 4. Estimated runoff capture by harvestable rights-exempt dams on Hunter Regulated River ................. 20 Table 5. Estimated basic landholder rights .....................................................................................................