When flooding cancelled last month's public information session about whether landowners should harvest more water on their land, the irony was not lost in Lismore.

The public meeting, previously scheduled for March 22, will now instead be held on April 20 - and local community members are invited to have their say on whether the existing 10% water harvest rights limit for landowners in coastal draining catchments is sufficient.

Local Member of the Legislative Council Ben Franklin said the session is part of a NSW Government review of landowner water harvesting rights.

At the moment, owners or occupiers of land can collect a proportion of the rainfall run-off from the land in one or more dams without a water licence, water supply work approval, or water use approval.

"We need to find out if we need to increase water harvesting allocations to improve water security for rural farmers and landholders," Mr Franklin said.

“The current harvestable right in coastal draining catchments allows landholders in these regions to harvest 10% of rainfall runoff from their properties,” Mr Franklin said.

“Higher rainfall on the coast means we could support more agricultural ventures through increased harvestable rights for some areas, and there are few major public storages on the coast to hold water for agricultural or stock and domestic use.

“We encourage community members to have their say during the public exhibition period and if possible, participate in one of the additional public face-to-face consultation sessions or the upcoming interactive webinar.”

Information session details and bookings

Two face-to-face information sessions will take place in Lismore on Tuesday, April 20, at Lismore Workers Club.

Session 1: 11am to 12.30pm

Session 2: 1 to 2.30pm

To book, visit https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/licensing-trade/landholder-rights/harvestable-rights-dams/review/public-consultation

Discussion paper

The NSW Government has also released a discussion paper and hydrological modelling in December 2020 and is still seeking public comment.

Due to increased interest and the continued relaxation of COVID-19 regulations, the public consultation and submission period has been extended and is now open until Sunday, May 16.

For more information including fact sheets and video summaries, visit: https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/licensing-trade/landholder-rights/harvestable-rights-dams/review/public-consultation

Worst drought

Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey said communities along the coast experienced the worst drought on record, followed by extreme bushfires where some towns were on the verge of running out of water.

“For businesses and industry, the ability to capture this rainfall runoff without the need for a water access license or work approvals is vital to their viability and we want to ensure the water management framework continue to support them,” Mrs Pavey said.

Participants will need to register to ensure COVID-19 restrictions can be adhered to.

The Coastal Harvestable Rights Review discussion paper was released in December 2020, and is also available to view on the Department’s website.