Dam removed and water returned to creek catchment
A huge dam on an Oran Park property has been removed and hundreds of megalitres of water returned to the catchment of South Creek in south-western Sydney.
Removal of the dam was a key part of a binding legal agreement between a dairy farm operator and the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) earlier this year.
Aerial photos now show that one of the dams subject to the agreement has been emptied and the dam wall permanently opened.
NRAR’s Director Water Regulation Gregory Abood said the large brown patch in the centre of the photo was the former dam.
"The watercourse entering the dam from the right is Julia Creek, a tributary of South Creek which is part of the Hawkesbury Nepean catchment.
"The works to remove the dam were recently completed and this action returns more than 900 megalitres of water to the South Creek system. Reclaiming more than 360 Olympic swimming pools worth of water is a significant win,” Mr Abood said
NRAR entered the landmark $425,000 enforceable undertaking (EU) with the landowner last November following the investigation of alleged unauthorised taking of water on the property.
The EU was NRAR’s largest so far. It included $300,000 for alleged unlicensed water take, $100,000 for the water regulator’s legal and investigation costs, removal of dams, rehabilitation work along Julia Creek and a $25,000 donation to Landcare for remediation work on South Creek.
Mr Abood said the company had operated the property for many years but did not hold a water access licence for water take, or a water management works approvals for the 3 large dams and multiple pumps.
As a result of the alleged breach, the farm operator faced potential prosecution under sections 60A and 91B of the Water Management Act 2000 (WM Act). Under section 60A it is an offence to take water without a licence or to take it in breach of the conditions of the licence. Under section 91B it is an offence to construct or use a water supply work without approval.
Read the full details of the enforceable undertaking here.
