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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY G.C.L. BAUDAINS OF ST. CLEMENT
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 2nd JULY 2013
Question
Would the Minister advise how many staff are currently involved in the administration of the Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007 and would he provide an outline of the positive effects this Law has achieved to date?
Answer
- Staffing level
One full-time member of staff (States of Jersey Hydrogeologist) administers the Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007. During the initial stage of implementation, some additional administrative support was provided. The administration of the Water Resources (Jersey) Law 2007 is entirely self-financed by income received from licence fees.
- Positive effects of the Law
Since the Law came into force in 2010, a total of 3205 water sources have been registered
and 221 abstraction licences issued. Comprehensive hydrological and hydrogeological information has been gathered through the registration and licensing process including;
- The accurate locations of over 3500 water sources used to abstract water (inc. wells, boreholes, springs, streams, ponds and reservoirs)
- Information for each source (e.g. borehole/well depths, water levels abstraction rates etc.)
- Abstraction quantities, duration and use of abstracted water.
Other positive effects of the Law to date include;
- Greatly improved understanding of the overall hydrology and hydrogeology of Jersey.
- Pressures on water resources in each Island catchment can now be fully assessed and, where necessary, water use prioritised. Licenses can be conditioned appropriately to minimise adverse impacts on resources and the environment.
- Greater protection of water sources from pollution incidents and development. Site specific hydrogeological assessments can now be undertaken (for example, the siting of drainage fields for package sewage plants).
- Greater protection of water sources from agriculture. A Farm Risk Map details the location of boreholes and wells. This is accessible online and assists farmers to decide where and under what conditions slurry and other organic wastes can be spread as
specified in the Water Code.
- Enhanced response to droughts and potential droughts. A stakeholder Drought Group has been formed and a Drought Plan produced to provide guidance on actions and procedures, so that negative impacts on people, economy and environment are minimised.
- Better overview of the Island's water resources at any given time through water situation reports and an annual water balance. Water Situation reports provide essential information during drought periods and underpin decisions that will need to be taken in response to such an event.
- Informed long-term water use patterns and demand via annual abstraction data for each of the licensed sources.
- Provision of baseline data that will underpin Water Framework Directive assessments for the fresh water resources of the Island.
- Central storage of all data collected through the licensing and registration process in a readily usable format is available to provide the basis of future hydrological/ hydrogeological research.