Regulator unsure of spearpoint compliance
About one quarter of coastal water licence holders don't know how to comply with the conditions of their licence, according to the Natural Resources Access Regulator.
However, the Regulator was unable to say whether this applied to spearpoint pump licensees on the Peninsula.
"Any works that access ground water, including spearpoints, need to hold an approval," the Regulator's media contact Ms Prachi Parikh told Peninsula News.
"Therefore, it is possible that some of the site inspections may have been properties with spearpoints, to ensure they are complying with the conditions of their approval.
"In 2023, the Outreach team visited 56 properties and inspected 79 works in the Central Coast which includes suburbs in the Peninsula area."
Director of Education and Engagement Ms Keeley Reynolds said on the coast water allocations and water supply works were typically smaller than in other parts of the state.
"We tend to encounter smaller water users on the coast, as well as a relatively high number of new property owners or absentee landholders who own the water licence but don't run the property," she said.
"With these factors in mind, it's easy to imagine how water users can make mistakes because they don't know the rules.
"Although we might be dealing with smaller water users on the coast, these breaches can have a negative effect on the environment and other water users when you add them all up," Ms Reynolds said.
SOURCE:
Media release, 1 May 2024
Prachi Parikh, NRAR