Groundwater Regulation, Compliance and Enforcement: Insights on Regulators, Regulated Actors and Frameworks in New South Wales, Australia

Holley, Cameron; Mutongwizo, Tariro; Pucci, Susan; Castilla-Rho, Juan; Sinclair, Darren

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-32766-8_22

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This is illustrated with the case of England and Wales, where the Environment Agency applies a graduated approach, starting from advice and guidance, followed by warnings, enforcement notices, civil sanctions and criminal proceedings. Similar approaches are implemented in France, New Zealand and Australia (Holley et al, 2020;Montginoul et al, 2020).…”

Section: Enforcement Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Last but not least, compliance is highly dependent on social norms that emerge within each particular cultural context and that determine whether and to what extent water users comply with allocations set by agencies. Engaging non-government actors (community leaders or 'champions', who influence others through their good example) to promote broader social norms will provide the true 'glue' that cements and holds cooperative compliance behaviours together (Holley et al, 2020). Consolidating a social norm of collective responsibility and compliance can be more effective than using 'enforcement sticks', in particular in the absence of sufficient enforcement staff or resources on the ground.…”

Section: Social Normsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Transitioning away from open access: lessons learnt from a comparative analysis of water allocation regimes worldwide

Rouillard

Babbitt

Challies

et al. 2022

Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture

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The transition from open to regulated access to water resources is a challenging task for water managers who have to address complex environmental, social and economic trade-offs. Water allocation is a powerful tool, yet its implementation is deeply conflictual. This chapter compares the process of transitioning to regulated access in 13 case studies worldwide. It shows the wide diversity of institutional settings and design choices, while exploring why differences occur and considering the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches deployed in various contexts. It concludes with key takeaways and reflections on the need for ongoing work assessing the environmental, social and economic performance of allocation regimes.

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Section: Enforcement Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Social Normsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitioning away from open access: lessons learnt from a comparative analysis of water allocation regimes worldwide

Rouillard

Babbitt

Challies

et al. 2022

Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture

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show abstract

“…In this context, satellite‐based estimates of irrigation water use could provide valuable information to help in identifying potential “cheating” of regulations, eliminating need for manual meter checks on all irrigation wells or identifying locations of potential unauthorized abstractions. For example, Holley et al (2020) highlight the use of satellite‐based assessments of irrigated areas in combination with water rights inventories for detecting potential locations of noncompliance with water use regulations in the state of New South Wales in Australia. Similarly, in the western United States, satellite‐based ET data have recently been used to identify irrigated areas as part of adjudication over water compact allocations between Montana and Wyoming (Thompson Jr, 2019), while in Idaho satellite ET data have been adjudicate and enforce curtailment policies in the Snake River basin (Allen et al, 2007).…”

Section: Implications For Use Of Satellite Water Use Estimates In Agrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite‐Based Monitoring of Irrigation Water Use: Assessing Measurement Errors and Their Implications for Agricultural Water Management Policy

Foster

Mieno

Brozović

2020

Water Resources Research

109

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Reliable accounting of agricultural water use is critical for sustainable water management. However, the majority of agricultural water use is not monitored, with limited metering of irrigation despite increasing pressure on both groundwater and surface water resources in many agricultural regions worldwide. Satellite remote sensing has been proposed as a low-cost and scalable solution to fill widespread gaps in monitoring of irrigation water use in both developed and developing countries, bypassing the technical, socioeconomic, and political challenges that to date have constrained in situ metering. In this paper, we show through a systematic meta-analysis that the relative accuracy of different satellite-based irrigation water use monitoring approaches remains poorly understood, with evidence of large uncertainties when water use estimates are validated against in situ irrigation data at both field and regional scales. Subsequently, we demonstrate that water use measurement errors result in large economic welfare losses for farmers and may negatively impact ability of policies to limit acute and nonlinear externalities of irrigation abstraction on both the environment and other water users. Our findings highlight that water resource planners must consider the trade-offs between accuracy and costs associated with different water use accounting approaches. Remote sensing has an important role to play in supporting improved agricultural water accounting-both independently and in combination with in situ monitoring. However, greater transparency and evidence is needed about underlying uncertainties in satellite-based models, along with how these measurement errors affect the performance of associated policies to manage different short-and long-term externalities of irrigation water use. Despite the importance of monitoring for water management, the overwhelming majority of agricultural water use worldwide-both from groundwater and surface water-remains unmetered (OECD, 2015). For example, a recent report by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission in Australia highlighted that around 30% of the total surface water abstractions were unmetered (MDMA, 2017), with monitoring gaps of up to 75% in some parts of the basin (Grafton, 2019; Hanemann & Young, 2020). Similarly, estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA, 2019) show only 36% of groundwater irrigation wells in the United States are equipped with flow meters (Figure 1), with large monitoring gaps in states such as California and Texas that have experienced severe aquifer depletion over recent decades (Scanlon et al., 2012). In low-income countries, gaps in agricultural water use accounting are even more pronounced, with almost nonexistence

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“…One potential motive includes the common belief that cotton is a water-intensive or 'thirsty crop' that requires substantial volumes of water to grow (Walker 2019). Other drivers may include drought, climate variability, increasing water prices, insufficient water allocations, personal desire to farm, the advantages of ongoing availability and accessibility of fresh water upstream, and that fresh water is a valuable and profitable commodity to be sold, especially during times when fresh water is scarce (Barlow and Clarke 2017;Douglas et al 2016;Four Corners 2017;Holley et al 2020;Walker 2019). For some, the taking of water is not perceived as a crime, especially if it is for survival purposes, and is, thus, more akin to a rural folk crime than a serious offence (White 2019).…”

Section: Australia's Water Insecurity and The Alarm Bells Of Theftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Theft Maleficence in Australia

Baird

Walters

White

2020

Int J for Crime, Justice & Social Democracy

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The United Nations has repeatedly identified that freshwater security is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, and that water theft is a global problem exacerbating human conflict, denying human rights and accelerating environmental despoliation (UN 2019; UN Water 2020). Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent where water security is seriously threatened and constantly monitored by federal, state and local authorities. The devastating 2019-2020 bushfires across Australia serve as a stark reminder of the nation’s vulnerabilities to drought and the imperatives of water security and sustainability. Whilst some threats are undoubtedly climate induced, it is widely reported the ‘theft’ of water is playing an increasingly significant role in compromising Australia’s water security. This article provides a critical overview of the contemporary significance of water theft and its governance. It interrogates official documents of government inquiries, examines court proceedings, and provides a green criminological perspective on future policy, practice and prevention.

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Groundwater Regulation, Compliance and Enforcement: Insights on Regulators, Regulated Actors and Frameworks in New South Wales, Australia

Cited by 8 publications

References 33 publications

Transitioning away from open access: lessons learnt from a comparative analysis of water allocation regimes worldwide

Transitioning away from open access: lessons learnt from a comparative analysis of water allocation regimes worldwide

Satellite‐Based Monitoring of Irrigation Water Use: Assessing Measurement Errors and Their Implications for Agricultural Water Management Policy

Water Theft Maleficence in Australia

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