Your Dam Your Responsibility (PDF~1.2MB)
Your Dam Your Responsibility (PDF~1.2MB)
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.