How water is managed in the Gold Coast water plan area now

As part of developing the draft Gold Coast water plan, we have a chance to improve how we manage water in the water plan area.

The current Gold Coast water plan sets the rules for allocation and use of water in watercourses, lakes, and springs (surface water). It currently does not manage overland flow and underground water.

Users have access to water taken under a water entitlement (e.g. water allocation or water licence) or under a statutory authorisation through the Water Act (e.g. stock or domestic, low risk or prescribed activities).

Surface water licences in the current water plan include:

  • total volume of 1,236ML of licences restricted by volume
  • total area of 954ha of licences restricted by area
    and
  • 25 licences with other restrictions.

Surface water

When water is taken directly from naturally flowing watercourses, lakes, or springs, it is called unsupplemented water use. People in the Gold Coast water plan area currently take unsupplemented water through water licences.

There are 25 unsupplemented water allocations in the Lower Nerang water management area (WMA), with a total combined nominal volume of 478ML.

Up to 954ha of land can be irrigated under area-based water licences in the plan area. Both volumetric and area-based licences are used to take unsupplemented surface water in this region.

There are 2 major dams in the area (Hinze Dam and Little Nerang Dam) that supply supplemented water for urban and agricultural uses. The Nerang Water Supply Scheme (WSS) operates in the plan area and is owned and operated by Seqwater. Within in the scheme, there is a total of 84,000ML per annum that can be taken through 3 water allocations.

Under the water plan, water allocation trading is only available in the Nerang WSS and Lower Nerang WMA.

This type of water access is authorised in Queensland under the Water Act 2000.

Overland flow

Overland flow is water that runs across the land after rainfall, either before it enters a watercourse, after it leaves a watercourse as floodwater, or after it rises to the surface naturally from underground. It does not include water collected from roofs for rainwater tanks.

Overland flow water is not currently managed under the Gold Coast water plan.

Groundwater

Groundwater (also called underground water) is the water beneath the earth's surface that occurs in pore spaces and fractures of rock formations called aquifers.

Groundwater is not currently managed in the plan area and an entitlement to take groundwater for any purpose is not required. A moratorium on the construction of new bores to take groundwater for commercial uses is in effect in the Tamborine Mountain and Springbrook areas. This is to limit growth in groundwater use while more information about the resource is gathered.

So far, Queensland University of Technology investigations have found that the aquifers beneath Tamborine Mountain and Springbrook rely heavily on rainfall for recharge. This means the resource is limited, highly sensitive to changing weather patterns, and unreliable for long-term urban water supply.

Several groundwater dependent ecosystems have also been identified in Springbrook and Tamborine Mountain areas. Understanding their groundwater dependency and the relative impact from extraction is also important for sustainable management of the resource.

We will continue working towards better understanding the groundwater-surface water relationships and protecting groundwater-dependent ecosystems. This will assist in balancing groundwater use for community, agricultural, and cultural and environmental needs.

Read more about how we are proposing to manage underground water in the draft Gold Coast water plan.

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