Authorities from Western Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board have told the farmers that the Crown "owns" the rain that falls from the sky and the State Government has the right to manage, organise and sell the resource how it wishes.God - or nature - provides the rain, the Board gets to commodify it and the voters dispose of the government?
The context is that the trouble-prone South Australian Government (readers of this blog may recall comments on the former Attorney General's stance on bikies and criticism and on the current Attorney General's characterisation of the rights of criminals) apparently aims to meter farm dams - private infrastructure - and thence charge landowners for use of water from those dams.
The the extent to which the Government aims to charge for rain (as distinct from shaping land use and harvesting some dollars through licence fees and charges for consumption of 'surface water') is unclear. The state government, which is not fettered by the tight restrictions on the national government imposed by the fin de siecle straitjacket known as the national Constitution, presumably has the power to devise and impose law covering consumption of water from private dams (and indeed from the domestic rainwater tanks that it has encouraged householders to acquire, with for example "up to $1000 per household in rebates for purchasing a rainwater tank and having it installed"). The usefulness of charging for rainwater, except as a rather messy and deeply unpopular revenue generation measure, is more uncertain.
The same report indicates that -
Acting Water Minister Gail Gago yesterday acknowledged that while "no one owned" the rain, "the Crown reserves the right to manage this important resource".Times change. In 2007 the Board's Fact Sheet [PDF] indicated that -
Mrs Gago also only moved to rule out more wide-spread metering of rainwater tanks supplying water for domestic and stock purposes until March, when the current rules expire.
"Surface water (from roofs) may be taken for any stock and domestic purpose without the requirement for a water licence and there is therefore no requirement to meter household usage of this water," a spokeswoman for Mrs Gago said.
"There is no intention to meter household and commercial operations that collect roof runoff in rainwater tanks and comply with this statewide authorisation," the spokeswoman said.
But all exemptions to the statewide authorisation governing the use of rooftop captured rainfall expire in March. Mrs Gago's office did not offer a response when questioned about any proposed changes.
Proposed licensing of rainwater storages – The facts.The 205 page draft Plan for 2010 [PDF], glossed in a 76 page Guide [PDF] would appear to involve licensing and metering of all substantial private dams in rural areas that are fed by creeks or other watercourses on a sporadic or ongoing basis. It is likely that there are few dams that are fed solely by rain falling into that 'pondage', ie do not rely on rain that falls in the vicinity and is channelled via creeks.
The Western Mt Lofty Ranges (WMLR) is currently moving through the process of prescription, that is, the development of a management plan to ensure the sustainability of water resources. Following the distribution of information to water users in the WMLR, the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board seeks to clarify some inaccurate perceptions of the issue:• There will be no tax or levy on rainwater tanks where the water will be used for stock watering or domestic purposes. This also applies for dams and bores that are used for stock and domestic purposes. Stock and domestic use is specifically excluded from the raising of levies under the Natural Resources Management (NRM) Act 2004.The Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board is committed to effectively managing the region's water resources in a sustainable way. To achieve this, a management system must be implemented, ensuring this precious resource is distributed fairly amongst all users which includes the environment, now and into the future.
• This is not a new initiative. Licensed water allocations are already used in a number of prescribed areas including the Barossa Valley and the River Murray.
• Licensing of roof run-off affects only a very small number of very large commercial users. These users (500,000 litres or above) have the potential to negatively impact the environment and other users in the same way as farm dams.
• Feedback is sought from the community to determine what the most appropriate roof run-off threshold is. Once determined, roof run-off that exceeds the agreed threshold and is captured and stored for commercial use will require a license. A threshold license is needed for the Adelaide Hills because capturing large amounts of roof run-off will affect surface water flows to the catchment below, potentially affecting water flows for downstream neighbors and watercourses that rely on these flows for a healthy environment.
• A sustainable water management plan will enable fair and equitable access to water.
Businesses that rely on water will be able to do so with a sense of security well into the future, eliminating any doubt that the resource may not exist the following year.
• This is not about ownership of water, it is about managing the use of water resources so that the needs of all users, including the environment, are met.
