NSW farmers and landholders will have more time to share their views on proposed changes to water laws that would give property owners and farmers across the state improved access to water for firefighting.
The public consultation period has been extended to May 17 to enable more people to have their say.
The Water for Bushfire Preparedness and Firefighting Proposed Approach Paper outlines changes that would make it easier for NSW landholders to lawfully take small volumes of water to fight bushfires that threaten their properties.
If implemented, this would be reviewed after a few years to determine whether it should transition to a basic landholder right under the Water Management Act 2000.
The current laws allow rural fire brigades and their officers to take water from a water source to extinguish or control a fire without a licence.
But landholders themselves are only exempt if there is an emergency and they have received a lawful direction from an authorised officer.
There are no provisions at the moment for farmers or landholders to extract water from rivers or aquifers to help them prepare for imminent bushfires or fight active fires on their own land without holding water licences that can cost many thousands of dollars.
To view the documents and share your views, go to water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/our-work/allocations-availability/drought-and-floods/water-for-bushfire-preparedness-and-firefighting
A ‘what we heard’ report will be published mid-year.