Non-urban water compliance and enforcement in Victoria
Water corporations that manage water resources in non-urban areas play a key role in securing the rights of all water users as well as safeguarding the State’s water resources. This role is supported by the ongoing metering and monitoring of water take.
Most water users are responsible and abide by the conditions of their water licence. Each year, however, a small number of users break the law when they take and use water from an aquifer, dam, stream, river, creek or irrigation channel.
They may take water without an entitlement or licence, they may build an illegal bore or dam, or they might interfere with a water meter. Sometimes these offences are deliberate, and sometimes they happen because people do not know the law.
Victoria’s water corporations have several enforcement options available to them. These include education, warning notices, orders for reinstatement where appropriate, or revocation of a licence or prosecution.
Since 2014, water corporations have reported annually on their compliance and enforcement activities in accordance with clause 7.3A of their Statement of Obligations. The following state-wide statistics have been compiled for the 2017-18 water year.
Alleged compliance breaches reported in non-urban systems across Victoria
There were 1,625 alleged Water Act 1989 breaches reported from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, and 1,579 cases were finalised during this period. 14 prosecutions for breaches of the Water Act 1989 were initiated in 2017-18, and 10 prosecutions were finalised during this period.
The increase in alleged breaches reported (from 1,117 in 2016-17) is due to a combination of factors including increased capacity of water corporations to detect breaches and resolve to take enforcement actions targeting overuse against an allocation bank account (unauthorised use), and strong demand for water in regulated surface water markets combined with dry conditions. In most cases, the amount of unauthorised use is small and dealt with through advisory or warning letters.
Table 1 shows the reasons for finalisation of reported breaches, excluding those breaches prosecuted. Table 2 shows Water Act 1989 prosecutions commenced between 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, and Table 3 shows the outcomes of Water Act 1989 of finalised prosecutions.
Table 1: Alleged compliance breaches finalised from 1 July 2017 - 30 June 2018, excluding breaches prosecuted.
Reason for Finalisation | Number of cases | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Not proceeded with – not enough evidence, assessed as minimal impact or arbitrary in nature etc. | 95 | ||
Advisory letter | Total |
| 786 |
Comprising: |
|
| |
Section 33E and Section 289 | Taking water without authorisation and wrongful take of water | 564 | |
Section 63 and Section 75 | Taking water without authorisation and unauthorised works | 7 | |
Section 64AF and Section 289 | Failure to comply with water-use licence conditions, interference with waterway and wrongful take of water | 201 | |
Section 75 | Unauthorised works | 3 | |
Section 75 and Section 289 | Unauthorised works and interference with waterways | 1 | |
Section 289 | Interference with waterways | 10 | |
Warning notices issued | Total |
| 740 |
Comprising: | |||
Section 33E and Section 289 | Taking water without authorisation and wrongful take of water | 63 | |
Section 63 and Section 289 | Taking water without authorisation and wrongful take of water | 2 | |
Section 63 and Section 75 | Taking water without authorisation and unauthorised works | 5 | |
Section 63, Section 75 and Section 289 | Taking water without authorisation, unauthorised works and wrongful take of water | 42 | |
Section 64AF, Section 288 and Section 289 | Failure to comply with water-use licence conditions, interference with waterway and wrongful take of water | 620 | |
Section 75 and Section 289 | Unauthorised works and wrongful take of water | 1 | |
Section 288 | Interference with waterways | 2 | |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Interference with waterways and wrongful take of water | 1 | |
Section 289 | Wrongful take of water | 3 | |
Section 292 | Obstructing officers | 1 | |
Section 151 notice of contravention issued | Total |
| 12 |
Comprising: | |||
Section 63 | Taking water without authorisation | 8 | |
Section 75 and Section 288 | Unauthorised works and interference with waterways | 1 | |
Section 288 | Interference with waterways | 2 | |
Houseboat Regulations (Reg 4) | 1 | ||
Referred for enforcement actions | 10 | ||
Customers restricted | 0 | ||
* Summaries of sections of the Water Act are indicative only. See the Water Act 1989 for full description.
** Total number of cases reported in Table 1 is higher than the total number of alleged breaches received as a single case of unauthorised use of water may be issued with an advisory letter, warning notice, and/or statutory notice.
Table 2: Prosecutions commenced under the Water Act 1989 for 1 July 2017 – 30 June 2018.
Relevant section(s) of the act | Water sources | Date commenced |
|---|---|---|
Section 33E and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 28 Sep 17 |
Section 33E and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 20 Nov 17 |
Section 33E and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 20 Nov 17 |
Section 33E and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 07 May 18 |
Section 33E and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 29 May 18 |
Section 75 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 26 Jul 17 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 16 Nov 17 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 30 May 18 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 24 Aug 17 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 29 Aug 17 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 28 Nov 17 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated Surface water | 21 Feb 18 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 04 May 18 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Regulated surface water | 04 Apr 18 |
Table 3: Outcomes of completed prosecutions under the Water Act 1989 for 1 July 2017 – 30 June 2018.
Relevant section(s) of the act | Basin that offence occurred | Date commenced | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
Section 33E and Section 289 | Goulburn River; Central Goulburn Irrigation Area | 20 Nov 17 | Withdrawn |
Section 33E and Section 289 | Goulburn River; Central Goulburn Irrigation Area | 20 Nov 17 | 1. 6 month bond |
Section 33E and Section 289 | River Murray | 07 May 18 | 1. 3 month bond |
Section 33E and Section 289 | River Murray; Torrumbarry Irrigation Area | 28 Sep 17 | 1. 12 month bond |
Section 288 | Rosedale GMA | 04 Jan 17 | 1. Fine $2,500 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Goulburn River; Central Goulburn Irrigation Area | 26 Oct 16 | 1. Fine $15,000 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Goulburn River; Central Goulburn Irrigation Area | 26 Oct 16 | 1. Fine $3,000 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Goulburn River; Loddon Valley Irrigation Area | 16 Nov 17 | 1. Fine $3,000 |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Murray Darling Rural (Pipeline) | 13 Jan 17 | 1. Fine $1500 2. Costs $1345 3. Conviction |
Section 288 and Section 289 | Murray Darling Rural (Pipeline) | 21 Mar 17 | Insufficient evidence |
Page last updated: 01/10/18