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Your Dam Your Responsibility (PDF~1.2MB)

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8<br />

3<br />

3 Licensing Requirements for Farm <strong>Dam</strong>s<br />

3.1 Take and Use Licences<br />

Where water in the dam is to be used for irrigation or commercial purposes, you will<br />

need a Licence to Take and Use water whether the dam is on a waterway or not. You<br />

will need to hold a ‘take and use’ licence for the period of time that you wish to take and<br />

use water out of the dam.<br />

You will need a licence to ‘take and use’ water before you can get a licence to construct<br />

a new dam.<br />

<strong>Dam</strong>s used for domestic and stock purposes built on your property do not require a take<br />

and use licence.<br />

With the 2002 changes to the Water Act, those with existing irrigation and commercial<br />

dams were able to obtain a Registration Licence for the water used from the dam.<br />

3.2 Construction Licences<br />

In all cases where you wish to build a dam on a waterway you will need a once-off<br />

Construction Licence.<br />

If you wish to build a dam off a waterway you will need a construction licence if the dam is:<br />

(a) 5 metres or higher and 50 megalitres capacity or larger; or<br />

(b) 10 metres or higher and 20 megalitres capacity or larger; or<br />

(c) 15 metres or higher, regardless of capacity.<br />

Note: The height of the dam or embankment is the difference in level between the<br />

natural surface level, bed of a gully, stream or waterway at the downstream toe of the<br />

dam and the crest.<br />

Typically, a condition of the Construction Licence will require the dam to be designed<br />

and the construction supervised by a suitably qualified engineer if your dam:<br />

• is located on a waterway with high ecological values; or<br />

• is on a watercourse; or<br />

• is of the dimensions given in (a), (b) or (c) above, whether or not the dam is on a<br />

waterway; or<br />

• is on a waterway and is considered to be potentially hazardous; or<br />

• is on a waterway and the dam has a wall that is 5 metres or more high and a capacity<br />

of 20 megalitres or more; or<br />

• has a catchment area above the site of the dam of more than 200 hectares.<br />

See your local Licensing Authority listed in Section 3.4 for more details and for conditions<br />

associated with Construction Licences.<br />

3.3 Operating Licences<br />

If you have a take and use licence, in most cases, conditions will also be set concerning<br />

the operation of the dam. A common condition will be to operate the dam to allow<br />

flows to pass downstream of the dam during certain times of the year.<br />

Depending on the size of your dam and its potential hazard, whether or not you have a<br />

take and use licence, you may be required to have an operating licence that may include<br />

conditions relating to surveillance and management of the dam’s safety.

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