Almost three quarters of 2020 group comply with new metering rules

NRAR now focused on 2021 group

The Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) today announced that 69 per cent of water pumps that were required to be fitted with accurate meters, independently certified and connected to telemetry in December 2020, are now compliant.

Water users who are required to comply with the rules by 1 December 2021 can expect to hear from the regulator in the coming weeks.

Grant Barnes, Chief Regulatory Officer at NRAR said he’s pleased with the increasing culture of compliance and hopes the next group of water users have made a reasonable effort to comply by their deadline.

“We’ve seen compliance rates among the 2020 group increase by more than 50 per cent in five months, that’s significant movement in the right direction. Importantly, more than 80 per cent of inspected water pumps in the 2020 group are now connected to accurate meters that have been independently certified,” said Mr Barnes.

The NSW water regulator will kick off a monitoring and compliance campaign for the 2021 group in February of this year.

This group includes all works, including pumps 100mm and above and bores 200mm and above in the Macquarie, Gwydir, Namoi, Border Rivers and Barwon-Darling regions. As well as some at-risk groundwater sources and smaller pumps with existing metering conditions.

“We worked closely with the department and WaterNSW to raise awareness within the 2021 group of the changing rules and hope to see that reflected in the rate of compliance we find on-farm,” reasoned Barnes.

There are more than 8,000 pumps in the 2021 group. NRAR will initially focus on high-volume water users within this group and will publicly and periodically report on rates of compliance among the water works it has inspected.

The regulator appreciates that flood events across NSW may have hampered the efforts of well-intentioned water users and meter installers to get metering equipment by the deadline.

“We are a firm but fair regulator and will consider each case on its own merit. Despite the challenges, we expect all water users to have entered a formal arrangement with a meter installer before their deadline, those who have will avoid penalties” explained Mr Barnes.

NRAR will also recognise alternative pathways to compliance, including:

• Inactive works – water users who no longer use their pumps, but might want to in the future, need to apply to make their pump inactive using the form on the WaterNSW website: waternsw.com.au/amendapproval
• Keeping an existing meter – a manufacturer certificate is required to keep an existing meter that was installed before 1 April 2019 but isn’t pattern approved. Alternatively, a meter installer can field test and verify its accuracy. In both cases, a meter installer is required to validate the installation and fit the meter with an intelligence device.
• Faulty meters – if a meter or intelligence device doesn’t work after it’s installed, water users need to report this to WaterNSW using the online S91i form at waternsw.com.au/s91i.
• Connectivity issues – if a meter installer can demonstrate that they can’t set up a local intelligence device, water users can apply for an exemption under clause 233 of the Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 by contacting the department. Compelling evidence is required.

Water users who are unsure if the rules apply to them, or what they need to do can use the department’s online metering guidance tool to get real-time answers to their questions.