floodplain harvesting

This is the harvesting of water from floodplains after heavy rain. It can be done by channelling water into storage sites for later use. It means, of course, that not all the floodwaters get to the river and as more and more farmers draw off the water from the floodplain, the river gets thirstier and thirstier.  The number of farmers who are diverting water in this way is growing, so work is now proceeding towards licensing the farmers who engage in this practice and setting a limit on the amount of water that can be taken in this way.  One of the major steps taken has been to set meters on all the water storages so that the government can measure accurately the amount of water that has been taken. It is hoped that the policy in NSW will be totally implemented by June 2021.