More evidence has emerged of changes to water licences giving a handful of irrigators in north-western NSW the ability to extract huge volumes of river water even during dry periods.

Documents obtained under freedom of information and analysis of public records by the Environmental Defenders Office NSW, seen by Fairfax Media, show licences for Barwon-Darling river water extraction were sub-divided apparently in breach of the NSW Water Management Act 2000, while others reveal excess water take.



As part of the sub-division, the licence holder was permitted to install 11 pumps with diameters of 600-660 millimetres – as much as eight times the previous size of the nine 80-150 mm pumps used – capable of extracting significantly more water.

The act does not allow additional water to be taken after subdivisions. The sub-division proceeded in February 2015, and the property was sold several months later to Webster Ltd, an ASX-listed firm.

"These licences are an integral part of water management in the Barwon-Darling, and the basin as a whole," said James Trezise, acting campaign manager of the Australian Conservation Foundation, which commissioned the EDO.