Both from Narrabri, the 69–year-old man and his 42–year-old son were convicted of four charges each in Campbelltown Local Court on July 5, 2017.

DPI Water Director Water Regulation Mr Frank Garofalow said a routine inspection of irrigation works by DPI Water officers in 2014 revealed several breaches on the Narrabri commercial irrigation property.

“The pair failed to maintain metering tools fitted to irrigation equipment and breached conditions of a water supply work approval,” Mr Garofalow said.

“There was a wire ‘jag’ installed, which interfered with the metering equipment of an irrigation bore bump, as well as anomalies on a second bore.

“There was also an improperly fitted meter and a delivery pipe that had been interfered with, so it was diverted before being metered.”

The property had several irrigation systems in place for cotton crops.

Mr Garofalow said DPI Water plays a key role in the sustainable management of water resources in the state, which is inclusive of an ongoing investigative and regulatory role.

“This is to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of water to the people and environment, while safeguarding the welfare of rivers and streams,” he said.

“DPI Water and WaterNSW have full-time compliance investigative staff to look into alleged breaches and will not hesitate to take regulatory action.”

The pair was prosecuted under the Water Management Act 2000, which is a shared responsibility between DPI Water and WaterNSW.