​NRE Tas is reviewing and standardising water licences to make them easier to understand and comply with. As a part of this process, the following condition is being added to allocations: "The licence holder must maintain records that demonstrate the quantity of water taken. When directed by the Minister, the licence holder must provide the Minister with the records in a manner specified by the Minister."

These factsheets are aimed at assisting water licence holders to account for the water they use. They are centred on providing various options for different situations. Depending upon your circumstances, knowledge and experience, you may choose to use the ones relevant to you.

If you do not use any of your licensed allocations, you do not need to keep records. A simple diary entry may suffice.

you any of your licensed allocations, then you will be required to demonstrate compliance by keeping records.There are a number of methods you can use.

Making the most of your water - Factsheet 1 - Record-keeping Factsheets

This factsheet explains who needs to keep records, the benefits of keeping them, and a description of what self-assessment may entail. The information in the other three factsheets build upon this one. The following process was found to be useful by farmers and industry representatives that DPIPWE consulted during the development of these factsheets:

  Making the Most of Your Water Factsheet 1   (402Kb)

Making the most of your water - Factsheet 2 - Planning your water use

This provides simple water budgeting examples and templates the could be utilised in planning your water use for any given season. This includes information on preparing a water budget and an operational plan, along with blank templates for you to fill in.

  Making the Most of Your Water Factsheet 2   (743Kb)

Making the most of your water - Factsheet 3 - Recording your water use

Here, a series of tools have been developed that may assist with recording your water use. Whilst it is not a definitive list, it does include information and templates for recording irrigation amounts, recording meter readings and using pump hour records. Blank templates of each of these are provided for you to use.

  Making the Most of Your Water Factsheet 3   (699Kb)

Making the most of your water - Factsheet 4 - Reviewing your water use

Reviewing your water use is as simple as comparing how much water you use with how much you have available. In simple terms, to be compliant, your water use must not be greater than what is allocated to you. This factsheet explains how to prepare a water balance and includes questions you can ask to see how your budgeting and record keeping have worked. This process may also provide information for future planning of water use in preparing financial budgets.

  Making the Most of Your Water Factsheet 4   (344Kb)

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Making the most of your water - Spreadsheets

This is an xls file that you can use to keep records for your water planning, recording and reviewing. The format is based on that provided in the factsheets, and includes formulas to make calculation of water use easier.

  Making the most of your water spreadsheet version 2.0   (151Kb)