Implementation of the Surat UWIR

The underground water impact report (UWIR) for the Surat Cumulative Management Area (CMA) is a statutory instrument under the Water Act 2000.

Tenure holders have responsibilities for implementing specific aspects of the report, including implementing the make good agreements, undertaking baseline assessments and implementing the water monitoring strategy and the spring impact management strategy.

Various government agencies have roles in ensuring proper implementation of a report. The Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA) liaises with tenure holders in regards to UWIR requirements and prepares annual reports on implementation.

General responsibilities for implementation are outlined below. Refer to the full Surat UWIR for details.

Bore assessments and make good agreements

The UWIR describes the responsibilities of tenure holders to:

• undertake bore assessments in the immediately affected areas (IAA)
• enter into make good agreements with bore owners
• implement the make good agreements.

Predicted impacts on water bores

If you are the owner of a bore in the Surat CMA, you can search for specific information about the predicted impacts at the location of your bore.

Baseline assessments

Tenure holders are responsible for carrying out baseline assessments of water bores on their tenure before beginning production. For areas outside the tenure areas, baseline assessment requirements are stated in the UWIR.

Responsible resource authority holders are also required to conduct baseline assessments for the long-term affected areas whenever the predicted impact on a bore exceeds 1m within 3 years.

Authority holders should use the following resources when carrying out and submitting results for baseline assessments:

• Baseline assessment guideline (PDF, 588KB)
• Outcome of baseline and bore assessment form (ESR/2016/2392) (DOCX, 303KB)
• Bore baseline assessment submission procedure for petroleum tenure holders (PDF, 350KB)
• Bore baseline assessment database data dictionary (PDF, 704KB)
• Bore baseline assessment database data file format (PDF, 463KB).

Water monitoring strategy

The UWIR outlines the components of the water monitoring strategy (WMS) and the list of all monitoring points in the water monitoring strategy (XLSX, 100KB) provides the locations of the groundwater monitoring bores.

Each groundwater monitoring site has been assigned to a responsible tenure holder to construct and operate monitoring works. In addition to the UWIR monitoring network, OGIA utilises complementary monitoring data available from a range of sources.

Spring impact management strategy

Tenure holders are implementing the spring impact management strategy detailed in the UWIR.

The UWIR sets out the impact mitigation and monitoring responsibilities.

Future research

OGIA, in collaboration with research partners, is continuing its research into understanding of the groundwater flow system to support future revisions of the UWIR.

Regulatory framework

The Department of Environment and Science is responsible for monitoring compliance with obligations under the UWIR.

The GasFields Commission works to improve sustainability and co-existence between rural landholders, regional communities and the onshore gas industry in Queensland. OGIA liaises with the GasFields Commission in relation to water extraction issues.

The Department of Resources manages the sustainable development of mineral and energy resources. OGIA engages with the department on groundwater impacts from resource operations and the department also provides corporate and administrative support.

Also consider…

• Conduct a bore search for information about the predicted impacts of water extraction on individual bores.
• Read about cumulative management areas.
• View bore information using Queensland Globe.
• Search for resource authority applications on your land and surrounding area.
• Get involved in groundwater monitoring for resource impacts.
• Access groundwater monitoring data.
• Make a resource enquiry or complaint.