Border Rivers Fractured Rock general reserve

Current status

We are reviewing all expressions of interest (EOI) received. The department is using this information in conjunction with the water plan requirements to determine the best way for the unallocated water (UAW) to be released within the catchment.

Next steps

The EOI process demonstrated a clear demand for unallocated water (UAW) from the Fractured Rock Aquifer within the Border Rivers and Moonie water plan area.

We will continue to engage with those who submitted expressions of interest, community members and other key stakeholders to keep them informed when and how unallocated water is made available.

You can still submit your interest at any time and make an application for new water should it be released.

  • A call for EOIs in the General Reserve UAW from the Border Rivers Fractured Rock aquifer ran for 8 weeks from 2 July 2025. The general unallocated water reserve consists of 387ML of groundwater.

    The EOI process showed that there is a strong interest in the available unallocated water reserves.

    Here’s what we learned:

    • We received 8 submissions with cumulative unallocated water demand ranging from 1,921ML to 2,385ML.
    • This significant demand for groundwater, clearly exceeds the available reserve and highlights that there will be strong competition for any release of UAW.
    • Primary demand for use of the unallocated water included
      • horticulture 50%
      • cropping 34%
      • commercial 8%
      • stock intensive 8%.
    • Demand for the groundwater came from across the whole fractured rock area.

  • To ensure transparency and awareness of the EOI process, the department undertook a range of consultation, including:

    • direct engagement with the Stanthorpe Community Reference Panel which included representatives from agriculture, community and the environment
    • email notifications to all water entitlement holders and previous EOI participants
    • information on this webpage
    • general enquiries were addressed via phone and email to provide clarity and support for interested participants.

Enquiries

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