Riverina landholder to face court for alleged water theft

A Carrathool farmer will face 13 charges for allegedly taking nearly 1100 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water from an at-risk source.

A Riverina landholder will face court in February for allegedly overdrawing 2700 megalitres of water from an at-risk water source.

The Natural Resources Access Regulator is prosecuting the landholder from Carrathool, west of Griffith, for allegedly taking the equivalent of nearly 1100 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water for their mixed farming business, starting in November 2018.

NRAR Water Enforcement Taskforce director Kirsty Ruddock said the landholder used bores to source the water from the Lower Murrumbidgee Deep Groundwater Source, which is considered at-risk.

“This is an important case to remind water users that every time they go into debit on their water account it is an offence,” Ms Ruddock said.

The landholder held a water account with no water credited to it at the time of the alleged offending, Ms Ruddock said.

“It’s a bit like a bank account with zero dollars in it. Before they take water a landowner needs to purchase or trade the water into the account,” she said.

The landholder will face 13 charges under section 60C (2) of the Water Management Act 2000 when they front the Land and Environment Court on February 4.