Farm Dam Licensing

Licensing of Dams Rural Water Authorities licence all works on waterways, and can advise on whether the proposed site of a gully dam is on a waterway. Applicants are required to undertake a local assesment of the impact of the proposed development, including environmental impact and the effect of extraction on other users. A planning permit is generally required for the construction of a farm dam if the dam is considered to be a substantial structure (large wall), and is constructed on relatively steep land or across a watercourse. Contact your local shire or council for further details. Approval from DSE is required if a dam site is within a Declared Water Supply Catchment Area, or if stored water intrudes onto Crown Land.

Farm dam, near Moe, Gippsland Photo: Barry Lewis

Notifiable Dams

Even where no dam construction licence is required, DSE must be notified if the dam height or storage capacity exceed specified limits.

A 'notifiable' dam is one with either:
i) a wall 5 metres or more high above ground level at the downstream end of the dam; and
ii) a capacity of 50 megalitres or more.
or
i) a wall that is 10 metres or more high; and
ii) a capacity of 20 megalitres or more.

Source:
B. Lewis, Your Dam - an Asset or a Liability, Dept. Conservation & Natural Resources, Melbourne, 1992.

Available from DPI Information Centre or DPI Library Services.

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