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Irrigation abstractors switching from surface water to groundwater

The permission to switch the abstraction will be limited to situations where the water scarcity is at least Alert level in the catchment.

A variation application will be required for irrigators to request to switch surface water abstractions to groundwater.

Eligibility criteria for switching

• The borehole must be more than 250m from any surface water or wetland.

• The borehole must be more than 400m from any other abstraction (including private drinking water supplies)

• The borehole must be less than 200m deep.

• A meter must be installed and operating before abstraction can commence.

We will treat applications to switch as a standard variation rather than a substantial variation as the key criteria limits the impacts on the environment and other users.