❓ Mr. Redman questions the Department of Water on the necessity and cost-effectiveness of licensing domestic bore water users in the Albany Groundwater Area, given their exemption from annual fees. The DoW defends the licensing as necessary for sustainable water management.
AnsweredQoN 2854Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(a) how many domestic bore water licenses are in this area;
(b) what is the annual cost to the Department of Water for renewing these domestic bore water licenses (expressed as a $ per license);
(c) what component of the $5.8 million annual costs associated with licensing is applicable to these domestic bore water licenses;
(d) what component of this fee is for assessment of license renewal, as distinct from checking compliance, maintaining licensing databases, management of appeals and community awareness;
(e) does the Department of Water carry out regular compliance checks on these domestic bore water licenses;
(f) if yes to (e), what is the nature of the compliance checks that are carried out in respect to these domestic bore water licenses;
(g) if no to (e), what level of monitoring/checking is undertaken on these domestic bore water licenses;
(h) has there been any change to the level of monitoring and compliance by the Deptartment of Water in respect to these domestic bore water licenses, since the Minister’s decision to exempt them from paying annual water license fees;
(i) why is it necessary to license these domestic bore water users;
(j) does the Department of Water (or any other agency or organisation) have any monitoring bores in proximity to the domestic bore water license holders; and
(k) if yes to (j), how many, and are they regularly monitored?
(b) what is the annual cost to the Department of Water for renewing these domestic bore water licenses (expressed as a $ per license);
(c) what component of the $5.8 million annual costs associated with licensing is applicable to these domestic bore water licenses;
(d) what component of this fee is for assessment of license renewal, as distinct from checking compliance, maintaining licensing databases, management of appeals and community awareness;
(e) does the Department of Water carry out regular compliance checks on these domestic bore water licenses;
(f) if yes to (e), what is the nature of the compliance checks that are carried out in respect to these domestic bore water licenses;
(g) if no to (e), what level of monitoring/checking is undertaken on these domestic bore water licenses;
(h) has there been any change to the level of monitoring and compliance by the Deptartment of Water in respect to these domestic bore water licenses, since the Minister’s decision to exempt them from paying annual water license fees;
(i) why is it necessary to license these domestic bore water users;
(j) does the Department of Water (or any other agency or organisation) have any monitoring bores in proximity to the domestic bore water license holders; and
(k) if yes to (j), how many, and are they regularly monitored?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
20 November 2007
Responded by
Minister for Water Resources
Response time
33 days
(a) 135 licences.
(b)
These licences are exempt from the annual water licence administration fee
. If an application for a new licence or an amendment of an existing licence is made a $200 one off fee is incurred. However, the annual cost associated with the administration of these licence is estimated at $200 per licence, which is being carried within the Department budget.
(c) In the original calculations for the recovery of $5.8M approximately $27,000 was attributed to these licences. However, these licences are exempt from the water licence administration fee.
(d) Not applicable as there is no annual fee for these licences.
(e) Yes.
(f) The Department of Water (DoW) undertakes comprehensive on-ground compliance surveys of all licensed users in the Albany Groundwater Area approximately every five years. The last survey was undertaken in 2004.
(g) Not applicable.
(h) No.
(i) On the basis of current knowledge on sustainable yield, abstraction from some
sub-areas of the Albany Groundwater Area is over allocated. Therefore any additional water abstraction has the potential to be unsustainable. However, the DoW does continue to issue licences for domestic users only in these areas as they may not have access to scheme water supplies. Given the potential risks to the aquifer, it is important that the DoW fully understands and manages all use of the aquifer, and how use relates to water tables. Licensing is an effective tool to achieve this.
(j) Yes, the Water Corporation has monitoring bores in this area.
(k) There are five monitoring bores in the Sandpatch sub-area, and eleven (11) monitoring bores in the neighbouring Prison sub-area. All are monitored monthly, and the Water Corporation reports this information to the DoW annually under the conditions of its licence.
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(b)
These licences are exempt from the annual water licence administration fee
. If an application for a new licence or an amendment of an existing licence is made a $200 one off fee is incurred. However, the annual cost associated with the administration of these licence is estimated at $200 per licence, which is being carried within the Department budget.
(c) In the original calculations for the recovery of $5.8M approximately $27,000 was attributed to these licences. However, these licences are exempt from the water licence administration fee.
(d) Not applicable as there is no annual fee for these licences.
(e) Yes.
(f) The Department of Water (DoW) undertakes comprehensive on-ground compliance surveys of all licensed users in the Albany Groundwater Area approximately every five years. The last survey was undertaken in 2004.
(g) Not applicable.
(h) No.
(i) On the basis of current knowledge on sustainable yield, abstraction from some
sub-areas of the Albany Groundwater Area is over allocated. Therefore any additional water abstraction has the potential to be unsustainable. However, the DoW does continue to issue licences for domestic users only in these areas as they may not have access to scheme water supplies. Given the potential risks to the aquifer, it is important that the DoW fully understands and manages all use of the aquifer, and how use relates to water tables. Licensing is an effective tool to achieve this.
(j) Yes, the Water Corporation has monitoring bores in this area.
(k) There are five monitoring bores in the Sandpatch sub-area, and eleven (11) monitoring bores in the neighbouring Prison sub-area. All are monitored monthly, and the Water Corporation reports this information to the DoW annually under the conditions of its licence.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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