{"id":"water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004","name":"Water Resources (Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2004","slug":"water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":238275,"registerId":"sa-water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Water Resources (Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2004","content":"South Australia\nWater Resources (Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2004\nunder section 8 and Schedule 2, clause 2 of the Water Resources Act 1997\n\nContents\nPreamble\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tDeclaration of prescribed wells and exclusion of operation of section 7(5) of Act\n5\tEstablishment and prescribed periods\nLegislative history\n\n\nPreamble\n1\tA proclamation was made pursuant to section 41 of the Water Resources Act 1976 (the 1976 Act) declaring an area of the State to be the Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region for the purposes of that Act.\n2\tSchedule 3, clause 2 of the Water Resources Act 1997 (the current Act) provides—\n\t(a)\tthat a proclamation under section 41 of the 1976 Act in force immediately before the commencement of the current Act continues in force as though the proclamation declared the existing and future wells in its Proclaimed Region to be prescribed wells; and\n\t(b)\tthat such a proclamation may be varied or revoked by regulation as though it were a regulation under section 8(1) of the current Act.\n3\tIt is now appropriate to make a regulation under section 8 of the current Act declaring a number of wells situated in a part of the State that is adjacent to the northern boundary of the Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region to be prescribed wells.\n4\tThe regulations to be made under the current Act will (among other things) have the effect—\n\t(a)\tof varying the area of the Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region by adding an area specified in the regulations to the Proclaimed Region; and\n\t(b)\tof re-naming the whole of that area as the Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area in keeping with practices under the current Act.\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Water Resources (Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area) Regulations 2004.\n2—Commencement\nThese regulations come into operation on the day on which they are made.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Water Resources Act 1997;\nKangaroo Flat Area means the area marked \"Kangaroo Flat Area\" bounded by the bold black line on GRO Plan No 45/2000;\nNorthern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area means—\n\t(a)\tthe Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region; and\n\t(b)\tthe Kangaroo Flat Area,\nbeing the area bounded by the bold black line on GRO Plan No 429/2003;\nNorthern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region means that area of the State declared by proclamation under section 41 of the Water Resources Act 1976 to be the Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region (Gazette 13.5.1976 p2459).\n4—Declaration of prescribed wells and exclusion of operation of section 7(5) of Act\n\t(1)\tPursuant to section 8 of the Act, wells situated in the Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area and wells drilled in that Area after the commencement of these regulations are declared to be prescribed wells.\n\t(2)\tPursuant to section 7(6) of the Act, the operation of section 7(5) of the Act is excluded in relation to any such prescribed well.\n5—Establishment and prescribed periods\nFor the purposes of section 36 of the Act—\n\t(a)\tthe establishment period in relation to the Kangaroo Flat Area of the Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area commenced on 1 July 1998 and ended at the commencement of the prescribed period; and\n\t(b)\tthe prescribed period in relation to the Kangaroo Flat Area of the Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area commenced on 13 June 2002 and will end on 31 December 2006.\nNote—\nSection 36 has no purpose in respect of that part of the Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area that is the Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region.\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\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2004\n154\nGazette 22.7.2004 p2600\n22.7.2004: r 2 \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative text was returned. The document provided contains only a website error page with no substantive regulatory content to analyse."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source returned a 404-style error page","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without actual content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law","Water resource regulations in prescribed areas are typically moderately to highly complex (would likely score 6-8 if content were available)"],"plain_english_summary":"This 2004 South Australian regulation sets rules for management of prescribed wells (licensed bores) in the Northern Adelaide Plains. It governs who may take groundwater, the conditions and likely limits on extraction, and compliance requirements.\n\nIt matters to landowners, farmers and anyone drawing bore water in that region because it determines licensing, permitted take and operational obligations."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose. It was always intended to expand the prescribed wells regime to the Kangaroo Flat Area and update the legal machinery from the 1976 Act to the 1997 Act. The scope has not grown beyond this specific geographic and administrative adjustment."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 operative sections plus preamble and legislative history","Just 3 defined terms in the interpretation section (Act, Kangaroo Flat Area, Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area)","Single straightforward amendment: adding one geographic area to an existing regime","Minimal cross-referencing — only references to specific sections of the parent Water Resources Act 1997 (sections 7, 8, and 36)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic; regulation 4(2) contains one simple exclusion of a statutory provision","Geographic boundaries defined by reference to specific GRO (Government Record Office) plans rather than complex coordinate descriptions"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations expand the area where groundwater use is strictly controlled in South Australia's Northern Adelaide Plains region. Specifically, they:\n\n* **Add the \"Kangaroo Flat Area\"** to the existing Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region, creating a larger area now called the **Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area**\n* **Declare all wells in this expanded area as \"prescribed wells\"** — meaning anyone who wants to drill a new well or take water from an existing one needs a permit or licence from the government\n* **Remove a legal exemption** (section 7(5) of the Water Resources Act) that would otherwise allow some existing well owners to keep using water without a licence\n* **Set specific time periods** for when water allocation rules apply to the newly added Kangaroo Flat Area (the \"prescribed period\" ran from 13 June 2002 to 31 December 2006)\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* **Farmers and landowners** in the Kangaroo Flat Area (near the northern boundary of the original proclaimed region) who rely on bore water for irrigation or stock\n* **Existing well owners** in the expanded area who previously operated under fewer restrictions\n* **Future developers** or anyone wanting to drill new wells in the area\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis is about **preventing groundwater over-extraction**. The Northern Adelaide Plains is a major horticultural region (think market gardens, vineyards, and glasshouses). Without these controls, too many people could drill bores and deplete the underground water supply — potentially causing land subsidence, saltwater intrusion, or simply running the aquifer dry. By \"prescribing\" the wells, the government can meter water use, cap extraction, and ensure sustainable use of a shared resource.\n\nThe regulations also modernise the legal framework — converting an old 1976 proclamation into the current 1997 Act system and using contemporary terminology (\"Prescribed Wells Area\" instead of \"Proclaimed Region\")."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulation expands the regulated area by adding the Kangaroo Flat Area to the Northern Adelaide Plains and renames the whole as the Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area (preamble; r 3). It declares existing and subsequently drilled wells in that area to be prescribed wells (r 4(1)), excludes the operation of s 7(5) of the Water Resources Act 1997 for those wells via s 7(6) (r 4(2)), and sets the establishment and prescribed periods for the Kangaroo Flat Area with fixed dates (r 5). The pre-existing Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region remains but s 36 is stated to have no purpose for that original proclaimed region (r 5 note)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-reference dependency on the Water Resources Act 1997 (notably ss 7(5), 7(6), 8 and 36) creates legal interpretive steps beyond the regulation text (see preamble; regs 4 and 5).","Incorporation of a historical proclamation under the 1976 Act and its continuation under the 1997 Act requires reconciling legacy instruments with current statutory definitions (preamble; definition of Northern Adelaide Plains Proclaimed Region in r 3).","Geographic definitions rely on external maps/GRO Plans (GRO Plan No 429/2003 and No 45/2000) rather than coordinates, requiring access to plans to identify boundaries (r 3).","Temporal complexity from prescribed and establishment periods that differ by sub-area and fixed past/future dates (r 5), including a note that s 36 has no operation for the original proclaimed region.","A specific legal exclusion is applied (exclusion of s 7(5) by operation of s 7(6)) which changes how statutory provisions interact for the declared wells (r 4(2)).","The regulation is narrowly targeted geographically and temporally, so practical complexity is low but legal effect depends on administrative enforcement and interpretation of the Act's permit regime."],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation expands the Northern Adelaide Plains area by adding the Kangaroo Flat Area and declares all existing and future wells there to be \"prescribed wells\" under the Water Resources Act 1997, so they fall within that Act’s permitting and control regime. It also excludes the operation of section 7(5) of the Act for those wells and sets specific transitional (establishment and prescribed) periods for the Kangaroo Flat Area. The main effect is that well owners/operators in that area must comply with the Act’s regulatory requirements and timing rules."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004","history":"/api/acts/water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004/history","analysis":"/api/acts/water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/water-resources-northern-adelaide-plains-prescribed-wells-area-regulations-2004/documents"}}