Garden and Household Bores in Dubbo

The NSW Department says basic landholder rights let landowners and occupiers take and use water for domestic consumption and non-intensive stock watering without a water access entitlement or a water use approval. That does not remove the approval for the bore itself: the Department says you need a water supply work approval to construct a groundwater bore, including to take groundwater under domestic and stock rights.

Meters

The Department says a water meter is not required for a bore used only for domestic and stock rights. If the bore is also used for other regulated water take, a meter may be required under the non-urban metering rules, so say at the outset if you plan anything beyond the house and the garden.

Before you ask for a quote

Say what the bore is for. NSW Fair Trading says the consumer guarantees mean a service must be reasonably fit for any purpose the customer specifies, and that it must be delivered within a reasonable timeframe or the timeframe the supplier states after you have paid. A bore for a lawn and a bore you hope to drink from are different jobs, and the testing page says what NSW Health advises for the second.

Around Dubbo, many towns draw some or all of their water from groundwater in the alluvial sources, according to a 2012 NSW Government document, so a bore here draws on water other people depend on. The approval page covers the papers.

Does a household bore need a water entitlement?

No, for household use and non-intensive stock watering under basic landholder rights. The Department's own term for what is not needed is a water access entitlement; the bore still needs the water supply work approval.

Do I need a meter on a household bore?

Not on a bore used only for domestic and stock rights. A meter may be required if the bore is also used for other regulated water take.

Can I water the garden from a bore?

Garden watering is household use under basic landholder rights, as the Department describes them, but the bore needs its approval first. Drinking and cooking need the water tested and treated.