{"id":"water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990","name":"Water Resources (McLaren Vale Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 1990","slug":"water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":238246,"registerId":"sa-water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Water Resources (McLaren Vale Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 1990","content":"South Australia\nWater Resources (McLaren Vale Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 1990\nunder the Water Resources Act 1997\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n2\tInterpretation\n3\tDeclaration of wells in the Hundred of Willunga\n4\tDeclaration of wells in Upper Willunga Catchment Area\n5\tThe establishment and prescribed periods\n6\tOperation of section 7(5) of Act not excluded\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Water Resources (McLaren Vale Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 1990.\n2—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nthe Act means the Water Resources Act 1997;\nthe Upper Willunga Catchment Area means that part of the area bounded by the bold black line in G.R.O. Plan No. 497 of 1998 that does not comprise the Hundred of Willunga.\n3—Declaration of wells in the Hundred of Willunga\nPursuant to section 33(2) of the Water Resources Act 1990 I, the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, declare that all wells situated in the Hundred of Willunga are proclaimed wells and that all wells drilled in the Hundred of Willunga in the future will be proclaimed wells.\n4—Declaration of wells in Upper Willunga Catchment Area\nExisting wells in the Upper Willunga Catchment Area and wells drilled in that Area in the future are declared to be prescribed wells.\n5—The establishment and prescribed periods\n\t(1)\tThe establishment period in relation to the Upper Willunga Catchment Area commenced on 29 March 1993 and ended at the commencement of the prescribed period (21 August 1997).\n\t(2)\tThe prescribed period in relation to the Upper Willunga Catchment Area commenced on 21 August 1997 and will end on 1 July 2000.\n6—Operation of section 7(5) of Act not excluded\nThese regulations do not exclude the operation of section 7(5) of the Act.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal regulations and variations\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n1990\n-\nproclamation—Gazette 31.5.1990 p1480\n31.1.1991\n1998\n224\nGazette 24.12.1998 p2086\n24.12.1998: r 2\nProvisions varied\nNew entries appear in bold.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\nrr 1 and 2\ninserted by 224/1998 r 3(a)\n24.12.1998\nheading preceding first paragraph\n inserted by 224/1998 r 3(b)\n24.12.1998\nfirst paragraph—see r 3\n\n\nr 3\nfirst paragraph redesignated as r 3 by 224/1998 r 3(c)\n24.12.1998\nsecond paragraph\ndeleted by 224/1998 r 3(d)\n24.12.1998\nrr 4—6\ninserted by 224/1998 r 3(d)\n24.12.1998\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: declaring specific wells in the McLaren Vale area as subject to licensing controls. The 1998 amendments were technical restructuring (converting paragraphs to numbered rules, updating references to the 1997 Act) rather than substantive expansion of scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 operative provisions (rules 1-6)","Minimal defined terms (just 2: 'the Act' and 'the Upper Willunga Catchment Area')","No nested exceptions or conditional logic","Straightforward declaratory structure (simply declaring wells as 'proclaimed' or 'prescribed')","Single cross-reference to section 7(5) of the parent Act","Temporal provisions are simple date ranges without complex calculations","Geographic scope relies on external map reference (G.R.O. Plan No. 497 of 1998) rather than complex boundary descriptions in the text itself"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations control who can drill and use water wells in the McLaren Vale wine region of South Australia — specifically in the **Hundred of Willunga** and the **Upper Willunga Catchment Area**.\n\n**Key points:**\n\n* **\"Proclaimed wells\" and \"prescribed wells\"** — These are legal labels that bring wells under government control. Once a well is \"proclaimed\" or \"prescribed,\" you typically need a permit or licence to drill, alter, or take water from it.\n* **Automatic coverage** — All existing wells in these areas are captured, and any new wells drilled in the future are automatically covered too.\n* **Time-limited controls** — The regulations set specific dates for when special rules applied to the Upper Willunga Catchment Area:\n  * **Establishment period:** 29 March 1993 to 21 August 1997 (a phase-in period)\n  * **Prescribed period:** 21 August 1997 to 1 July 2000 (when stricter licensing rules applied)\n* **Section 7(5) still applies** — The regulations explicitly don't block a specific part of the main Water Resources Act that deals with existing water rights.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* Landowners and grape growers in McLaren Vale\n* Anyone wanting to drill a new bore or well in the area\n* Water users who rely on groundwater for irrigation\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nMcLaren Vale is one of Australia's premier wine regions. These rules prevent over-extraction of groundwater that could damage the aquifer (the underground water source) and threaten the vineyards that depend on it. By \"prescribing\" the area, the government can cap total water use and allocate sustainable limits to individual users."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not retrievable. No comparison between original intent and current provisions is possible."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a Page Not Found error","Analysis is limited to inference from the title alone","Cannot assess regulatory complexity, cross-references, definitions, or operative provisions without the actual text","Subordinate legislation (regulations) under a parent Act typically adds a layer of complexity due to dependency on enabling provisions, but this cannot be confirmed here"],"plain_english_summary":"These South Australian regulations designate the McLaren Vale area as a prescribed wells area, setting rules around groundwater use. They affect landowners, farmers, wineries and other water licence holders who use or propose to drill bores in the region. The instrument matters because it governs drilling, licensing and extraction to prevent over‑use and protect a finite aquifer vital for local agriculture and viticulture."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulations were expanded after the original 1990 proclamation. Initially the instrument declared wells in the Hundred of Willunga (r 3). Amendments in 1998 inserted definitions and new rules (rr 1–2 and rr 4–6) to add the Upper Willunga Catchment Area and to specify establishment and prescribed period dates for that Area (r 5; Legislative history shows rr 4–6 were inserted by 224/1998 r 3(d) on 24.12.1998)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow geographic scope: applies only to Hundred of Willunga and the Upper Willunga Catchment Area (rr 3–4).","Uses plan reference for boundary definition (G.R.O. Plan No. 497 of 1998) rather than textual coordinates (r 2).","Temporal elements define an establishment period and a prescribed period with fixed dates for Upper Willunga (r 5), adding a time dimension to compliance.","Terminology difference between \"proclaimed wells\" and \"prescribed wells\" requires cross-reference to the Act to determine legal consequences (rr 3–4).","Heavy reliance on the Water Resources Act for operative rules and obligations — the regulations mainly declare status and preserve section 7(5) rather than set procedural detail (r 6).","Amendment history altered scope and inserted new provisions in 1998, so readers must track variations in the legislative history to know current effect (Legislative history; rr 4–6 inserted by 224/1998 r 3(d)).","Administrative discretion remains outside the regulations themselves because enforcement and specific requirements are set by the Act (r 6)."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations formally declare wells in two defined areas — the Hundred of Willunga and the Upper Willunga Catchment Area — to be \"proclaimed\" or \"prescribed\" wells under the Water Resources Act. That change makes those wells subject to the Act’s regulatory regime, bringing landowners and water users in those areas under administrative oversight and any obligations that flow from the Act. The instrument also sets the start and end dates for the Upper Willunga establishment and prescribed periods and preserves operation of section 7(5) of the Act."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990","history":"/api/acts/water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990/history","analysis":"/api/acts/water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/water-resources-mclaren-vale-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-1990/documents"}}