Water users in New South Wales may be able to receive a credit on their water allocations for re-injecting groundwater back into aquifers.

It is just one measure being considered under draft rules from the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

The authorities want to trial the draft rules at the Western Murray Porous Rock aquifer, south of Broken Hill.

Water users would be required to prove their re-injection had a neutral or beneficial impact, before being allowed to send excess groundwater back underground.

They would then receive a credit to their allocation.

“These rules are not an approval to reinject water,” a DPI spokesperson said this week.

“The intent is to provide an ability and incentive to reduce impacts to and encourage reuse of a valuable resource, benefiting all water use sectors.

“[The rules] would require proponents to hold all relevant environmental and development approvals, including details of water quality and monitoring procedures associated with any proposed returned water, in order to meet the 'neutral or beneficial' requirement.”

The rules are just a draft for now, but the trials could see them become more widely enacted.