The Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) checked more than 8.8 million megalitres of water entitlements across NSW during the 2023-24 financial year - enough water to fill more than 3.5 million Olympic pools. 

The huge number has been revealed as the water regulator tallies the results of its major compliance campaigns for last financial year, which includes the Far North Coast.

The campaigns targeted key water use areas: 

• Overdrawn accounts – looking at water accounts that had gone into negative balance (statewide) 
• Irrigated agriculture - focusing on illegal water take or storage for commercial use (Murray-Murrumbidgee, Far North Coast) 
• Non-urban metering - concentrating on high-volume high-risk water users who were not compliant with metering regulations (northern and southern inland) 
• Improving floodplain connections - focusing on addressing the problem of unapproved floodworks (statewide) 
• Monthly meter reporting - which sought better water use reporting by water licence holders in at-risk underground water sources (regions near Moree, Narrabri, Dubbo, Narrandera, Lake Cargelligo and Albury). 

The data also shows the regulator scanned tens of thousands of water works and properties/accounts using highly sophisticated satellite, intelligence and remote sensing technology. 

With this technology scanning and identifying potential compliance problems, compliance officers were then focused to undertake thousands of detailed desktop assessments and infield follow-up. NRAR officers visited more than 815 properties in 2023-24 related to these programs. 

More than 675 investigations and cases stemming from this work are still underway as of 30 June 2024. 

During the 2023-24 financial year, NRAR focused on irrigated agriculture to address illegal water take or storage for commercial use. This is an important issue, given that irrigated agriculture accounts for 80% of water intake in New South Wales. 

NRAR Director Regulatory Initiatives Ian Bernard said, "We used satellite spatial analyses to identify high-priority properties with unauthorised or oversized storages. The Far North Coast was identified as an area of concern along with the Murray-Murrumbidgee regions. 

(NRAR Director Regulatory Initiatives Ian Bernard)

"We analysed data on rainfall, storage levels, and river flows and compared it to land use maps made from satellite imagery. This allowed us to observe water used for irrigation from afar and quickly find potential markers of non-compliance. 

"We particularly looked at the Richmond, Tweed and Brunswick river valleys based on intelligence we had gathered using technology and data analysis. Our activities in these areas included assessing: 

• 4,770 Properties 
• 2,660 individual water works (under 2,190 licence approvals) 
• 39,660 ML of water entitlement looking for potential non-compliance (40 per cent of all non-town water supply in the region) 

"Horticulture is expanding, and weather patterns are changing. This is causing water stress in the Far North Coast region. The community expects that water used for irrigation is stored and used lawfully. "

Compliance data (Far North Coast) 

July 1 2023 to June 30 2024 . 

172 Suspicious activity reports received 

25 Suspicious activity reports referred or further investigation 

19 Reports investigated and finalised 

12 Enforcement actions (total) – including 2 fines (penalty notices), 4 directions, and 6 warnings/cautions. 

You can view the reports on each campaign's results via the NRAR's website as part of the agency's commitment to transparency and building public confidence. 

"People can see exactly what we did and why, how we approached the problem and what the results were," Mr Bernard said. 

"The results also highlight the growing capacity and the technological advancements of the regulator to identify potential breaches of water laws and act accordingly," he said. 

"There has never been a higher likelihood of being caught if you do the wrong thing."