Water trading in the water plan area

The current Gold Coast water plan establishes a framework for the permanent and seasonal assignment (temporary trading) of:

Nerang WSS

The Nerang WSS services the Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority and does not supply individual water entitlement holders. Between 2016 and 2021, there were no permanent trades or seasonal assignments of high priority water allocations in the Nerang WSS.

Lower Nerang WMA

The Lower Nerang WMA has minimal trade barriers (e.g. trading zones or minimum volumes). Between 2016 and 2021, only 2 permanent trades of unsupplemented surface water occurred in this area.

No major changes to the trading framework are proposed in the draft plan. However, minor updates will ensure water allocations specify a consistent water allocation group, further facilitating unrestricted water trading.

Proposed updates

The draft water plan introduces minor updates to improve water trading by removing outdated or restrictive conditions and supporting temporary trading (seasonal water assignments) for licences up to a 10ML cap.

Key proposed improvements include:

  • expressing the rate of take in megalitres per day (ML/d) instead of litres per second (L/s) for all unsuppplemented water allocations.
  • rationalising water allocation groups (WAGs) - the 2 existing Gold Coast (Lower Nerang WMA) WAGs will be merged into a single group, designated as Class A, and renamed 5A to align with statewide WAG naming conventions
  • omitting redundant conditions - outdated Schedule A and B conditions will be removed to simplify water allocations and reduce barriers to trade.

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