The rivers of inland New South Wales (NSW) face a range of pressures with regards to the management of aquatic habitat. Land management issues have a crucial role in influencing the health of aquatic ecosystems. Inland NSW is currently under increasing pressure from resource development for coal seam gas, coal and other extractive industries. These resource development projects often involve large scale water extraction requirements from both groundwater and surface water sources. The application of pump screening technology for State Significant Development (Major) Projects within inland NSW has presented NSW Department of Primary Industries with a range of legislative and logistical challenges to ensure there is no negative impact on native fish populations. Incorporation of pump screen technology has generally been limited to large town water supply projects and major extractive resource projects. Incorporating targeted and comprehensive aquatic environmental monitoring into these projects is a critical aspect of project development, particularly if threatened species, populations or ecological communities are present. In addition, these monitoring programs can assist in the development of pump screen criteria for wider application.