We're aware of reports about discoloured water within the Council’s water network and are prioritising the issue.
Within the Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010 dams are defined as:
Water storage facility means a dam, weir or reservoir for the collection and storage of water, and includes associated monitoring or gauging equipment.
Note: water storage facilities are part of a water supply system, as defined in the Local Environment Plan.
Where permitted, all new farm Dams require a Development Application (DA) , as does any alteration work (excluding the cleaning of silt).
A licence, under the Water Management Act 2000 (Water NSW), will be required if your dam exceeds the maximum harvestable rights capacity (MHRDC) unless it meets one or all of the following exemptions:
Under the Water Management Act 2000, harvestable rights allows landholders in most rural areas to collect a proportion of the run-off on their property and store it in one or more farm dams up to a certain size. For more information, consult Water NSW’s website .
You will need to submit your Development Application via the NSW Planning Portal . Further assistance can be found on our Development Application Guide page.
Specific requirements for dams include:
Dams are prohibited in the following land zones:
The technical guidelines for the construction of Farm Dams can be located in the Development Control Plan . The purpose of these controls is to ensure:
At the completion of the construction of the dam it will be require that certification from a registered surveyor that the dam does not exceed the approved capacity. Certification from a Geotechnical Engineer may also be required as a condition of consent if the Dam is location in an area of unstable land. This is to ensure that the Dam construction has been carried out in accordance with the technical requirements and the conditions of approval.
Any works within 40 metres of a Water Course (water body) will require a DA (Development Application). It is recommended you speak to the Duty Planner to confirm the proposed works require no approval.
Duty Planner
No approval is required to remove the silt from an existing dam. This silt or sludge must be disposed of on the property. The works must not increase the dam’s capacity from the original approval or constructed size. It is recommended you speak to the duty planner to confirm the proposed works require no approval.
No approval is required to fix a leak in a dam as long as the following items are complied with:
Note: Many dams have been constructed with the materials available on the site. As such these dams have existing material on the site that can be used to fix a leak, broken wall, etc. It is recommended you speak to the duty planner to confirm the proposed works require no approval.
Any works that result in the increase of a Dam capacity will require a Development Application (DA). This application must be submitted via the NSW Planning Portal.
If material is not able to be harvested from the site to fix a dam up to 100 cubic metres of clean and certified material is permitted to be brought to the site without approval. Any works that require more material will require Development Application consent.
It is recommended you speak to the Duty Planner, to confirm the proposed works require no approval.