Water for primary industries

All aspects of primary industries are critically dependent on access to, and use of, water:

• Production levels from both rainfed and irrigated agricultural and forestry enterprises are directly correlated to the volume of water available to the crops and how efficiently it is used.
• The health and productivity of aquatic ecosystems, including fish, are dependent on total river flows, flow variability and water quality. The health of the catchment environment can be affected by the volume and pattern of overbank flows as well as rainfall and evaporation.
• The coastal marine environment and therefore our coastal fisheries are affected by the quality and volumes of water arising from catchment flows.
• Water is essential to maintain mining operations, and waste water from mining operations must be handled in a way which minimises impacts on the environment.

Industry & Investment NSW - Primary Industries provides information and supporting research findings to primary industries to encourage efficient and effective use of water and protection of aquatic ecosystems. It also manages some key legislation concerning fish.

NSW Office of Water manages key legislation about how water will be shared, traded and used; and NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change & Water (DECCW) manages legislation concerning water quality.

Further information

Tumut River

• Water and irrigation
• Environmental management systems
• Climate risk management project
• Policy for sustainable agriculture in NSW
• Assessment of economic, environmental and social impacts of advisory programs in water use efficiency
• Aquaculture
• Water management in State Forests
• Mining and the environment
• Water research
• Fish friendly farms
• Wetlands on farms
• Coastal floodplains and acid sulfate soils
• Flood 

Northparkes Mine

Related web links

• NSW Office of Water
• NSW Office of Water: Water management
• NSW Dept Environment, Climate Change & Water: Water
• State Water
• NSW Water Information
• NSW Catchment Management Authorities
• CSIRO - Land and Water
• NSW Minerals Council: Water use and management
• Nature Conservation Council of NSW: Rivers