On 19 March 2020, Water NSW secured a conviction against two NSW
irrigators (Defendants) for breaching water take conditions. The
case provides some important guidance on the evidence required to
secure a criminal conviction, and how the Courts deal with
technical and scientific uncertainty.
Background
The Defendants owned and operated a cotton farm and jointly held
a Water Access Licence (WAL), water supply works
and water use approval. Under their WAL and water approvals, they
were able to irrigate and take water from the Barwon River subject
to the following condition:
'Water must not be taken when the flow in the Darling
River at the Bourke gauge (425003) is equal to or less than 4,894
ML/day'
