The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has announced the temporary water restriction order which applies to the Mortons Creek Water Source has been extended, with the new expiry date of March 31, 2021.
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The revised licence conditions for water users covered by the Water Sharing Plan for the Hastings Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources 2019 have been imposed for all water access licence holders, except those in the Mortons Creek Water Source.
A temporary water restriction was in place for the Hastings unregulated and upriver alluvial water source and the Hastings River coastal floodplain alluvial groundwater source to control unregulated river and aquifer access licence extractions in the Hastings River.
The Hastings restriction was necessary to maintain water supply for basic landholder rights, stock and domestic and local water utility licence holders, including supply for Port Macquarie, during the switch to updated cease-to-pump licence conditions under the new water sharing plan.
The department is currently working through the necessary administrative procedures to update the rules in the water sharing plan that will apply to water users in Mortons Creek. This needs to occur before the revised licence conditions can be imposed for this water source.
It was anticipated this would be completed by December 2020, but completion is now planned for March 2021.
The existing restriction on Mortons Creek Water Source will remain unchanged and in place until 31 March 2021. However, it can be repealed once the water sharing plan has been amended and licence holders in Mortons Creek have been notified of their revised licence conditions.
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