Accounting for your water
New conditions are being added to all water licences that will require you to keep records to demonstrate compliance. NRE Tas has developed the Making the Most of Your Water factsheets to explain how planning, recording and reviewing your water can help you to comply with your water licence.
There are a number of ways that water can be accounted for and NRE Tas will generally not specify a method. This factsheet provides information on using Meter Records as Irrigation Records to account for your water.
Meter Records
- The use of meter records is probably the easiest way to record the amount of water taken
- As a minimum, readings should be recorded at the beginning of the season, before and after any restriction period, whenever you change your water source and at the end of the season
Irrigation Records
- You need to keep a record of how much irrigation water was applied to each crop during the season
- This requires knowledge of the water output from your irrigation system
You may already have systems in place that you use to manage your business. Such systems may also be useful to record water use and demonstrate compliance. If you don't currently have a system to record your water use, or want to find out more then the Making the Most of Your Water factsheets may be helpful.
By accounting for how much water you take, you are able to determine the efficiency at which you are using your water. If you are using less water than your allocation, there may also be opportunities for you to increase production or trade water to other users.
This factsheet below also contains examples of simple tables that could be used to record meter readings or irrigation applications.
Accounting for your water factsheet (PDF 184Kb)