What are the active management rules?
The active management rules were implemented in December 2020 to protect active environmental water (AEW) from extraction in the unregulated Barwon-Darling, Gwydir and Macquarie-Bogan water sources. AEW includes:
- held environmental water (HEW) flowing from an upstream water source
- planned environment water (PEW) from upstream water sources protected from extraction under the existing water sharing plan rules (e.g. active sub-allowance from the Macquarie Cudgegong regulated river)
- licensed unregulated river water where the licence holder has notified the Minister that they want the water left in the unregulated river water source and protected from extraction
Before the rules were implemented, AEW could have been legally extracted from these water sources, so that it might not reach intended targets. Active management also gives licence holders and other stakeholders more certainty about how flows are managed and makes it clear when water can and cannot be taken.
Active Management in Unregulated Rivers Policy
The Active management policy provides greater detail on the scope of active management and how it works.
Read the policyTo implement active management, WaterNSW follows the processes in the active management procedure manuals:
More information
To find out more please visit:
Annual evaluation and review
The procedures manuals require the department to complete a review annually. The department has completed the second annual review for 2021-22 available below.
Have your say
Water users in areas where the active management rules apply can now provide feedback on the implementation of the rules to be considered as part of the next evaluation and review process.
You can access the feedback form via the button or the QR code below.
Please provide your feedback by 5pm Monday 30 September 2024 so it can be considered in the 2023-24 annual evaluation and review.