Agriculture protecting drinking water in the Lower Hunter

11 Mar 2024

Hunter Local Land Services and Hunter Water Corporation are collaborating to deliver a long-term program for landholders in the drinking water catchments of the Paterson, Allyn, Williams and Chichester valleys. The collaborative 4 Valleys Program is designed to safeguard water quality and environmental values while also enhancing farm productivity and profitability.

There are several key elements in the program including grazing management courses, farm planning, field days and workshops and, recently launched, a landholder incentive funding program.

Col Freeman, Senior Land Services Officer with Hunter Local Land Services, said, “Under the 4 Valleys Program, we have launched an Incentives Program for landholders in these important catchments.

“Funding is available to help landholders implement on-ground works and management practice change which are good for farm management and production and also reduce the risk to drinking water quality.”

The 4 Valleys Sustainable Agriculture Incentives 2023-2025 Program is open to landholders in the drinking water catchments and funds are available for projects on a competitive basis through multiple funding rounds.

Funding will favour projects which safeguard drinking water quality and demonstrate a whole of property approach to grazing and environmental management.

Col continued, “We are working to support landholders along priority rivers in the Hunter region - within the drinking water catchments of the Paterson, Allyn, Williams and Chichester valleys - to adopt farming and land management practices that are ultimately a win-win for agriculture production and our precious environment.”

More information about the Incentives Program is available Incentives and Funding page.