Almost half of the North Coast properties reported for allegedly breaking water rules in the past two months had in fact broken the rules according to the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).
Director of Regional Water Regulation with NRAR, Graeme White said the Regulator’s officers conducted targeted site inspections at 25 properties across the region between February and March in response to public reports of alleged non-compliance.
Mr White said more than half (52 per cent) of properties were fully compliant but issues were identified on the remaining properties.
“We are very pleased that half of the properties we inspected were following the rules and that the other properties have been cooperative,” Mr White said.
“However, we expect to see an improvement in compliance levels in the coming months,” he said.
“During our inspections we found that where breaches had occurred, most water users had made unintentional mistakes and were willing to make changes in order to become compliant.”
Mr White said the 25 inspections took place across Tweed, Ballina, Casino, Tenterfield, Coffs Harbour, Armidale and Ebor.
He said NRAR officers found 12 properties (49.5 per cent) required compliance action with four penalty notices issued; two warning letters; and three direction orders, including one stop work order and two requests to remove unlawful water works.
“We have responded to the concerns of the community and we’re taking action to ensure water is shared fairly,” he said.
“The rules exist to protect our water resources and only work if we all comply with them,” Mr White said.
