Reliable Surface Water in New South Wales for Agricultural Land Assessment

New South Wales land areas with reliable surface water supply, mapped by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in 2013. The dataset identifies regions buffering regulated and unregulated rivers and creeks, based on stream order. It is used to classify Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) for State Significant Development applications under the Mining SEPP.

Use Cases

• Identify land with reliable water supply based on river and creek buffering rules
• Classify Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) for regional and site-level assessments
• Support State Significant Development applications requiring Site Verification Certificates
• Inform the Mining and Petroleum Gateway Panel's assessment of development proposals

Strengths

• Created by a government department (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - Water Group)
• Uses specific buffering rules (150 metres) and stream order criteria for mapping
• Integrates with other datasets (reliable rainfall, productive groundwater) for a composite assessment

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Last updated 2026-05-28 03:06:37.599248; freshness should be verified

Provenance

Source

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - Water Group, Spatial Services (DCS)

Collection Method

Geospatial mapping based on defined buffering rules for regulated and unregulated watercourses.

Time Range

Created in 2013.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 03:06:37.599248

Geography

New South Wales, Australia.