The water licence holder (licensee), who was taking groundwater for commercial horticultural purposes, failed to install a water meter by 31 December 2018 as required by new metering regulations, and was subsequently prosecuted in the Joondalup Magistrates Court earlier this month (November 2020). The regulations require certain water licences in Western Australia to be metered from a series of staged commencement dates, delivering benefits both to licensees and to water resource management efforts across the state.
During sentencing Magistrate Walton commented on ‘the importance of the requirement of installing water meters for purposes of deterring people from exceeding their water limits, and on the overall importance of water to the State’.
The licensee was served with a statutory direction to install the water meter after attempts by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) to promote voluntary compliance.
DWER Regional Delivery Executive Director Paul Brown said the licensee failed to comply with DWER’s direction, which resulted in the department charging the licensee with an offence under the Rights in Water and Irrigation Regulations 2000.
“This is a serious offence,” Mr Brown said.
“While there are benefits for licensees through improved understanding of their water needs, water meters are also the primary tool used to ensure that licensees comply with their water volume entitlement, and to provide accurate water use information for the department’s water accounting, modelling and planning activities.
“This decision sends a message to licensees that it is important to comply with the legal requirements of their water licence and failing to do so can result in a prosecution and fine by the courts,” Mr Brown added.
For more information about your responsibilities see our Water metering and measurement webpage.
