Pioneer Valley water plan area
This information will help you understand how water is managed in the water plan area and how you can access water.
Map of the water plan area
Check whether your property is covered by the plan on the Queensland Globe water plan map (use Google Chrome for best results) or download the Pioneer Valley water plan area map (PDF, 333KB).
What's happening?
- 1 July 2025: The announced allocations/entitlements for the 2025–26 water year for the Pioneer Valley Groundwater Management Area are now available, see Accessing water below.
- 23 June 2025: We have amended the Pioneer Valley water management protocol (PDF, 643KB) to extend the current water sharing rules for underground water licences. This means that there are no changes to the current management arrangements while the water plan is under review, which will continue to help protect the impacts from sea water intrusion (where saltwater infiltrates a coastal aquifer). View the statement of changes (PDF, 128KB) and impact analysis statement for more details.
- 21 October 2022: A notice was gazetted to postpone the expiry date of the water plan to 30 September 2025. Postponing the expiry of the water plan will allow the department to complete technical assessments and undertake adequate consultation to address current and emerging issues as part of the replacement process.
- 10 October – 18 November 2022: A preliminary public consultation was held for the proposed replacement of the Pioneer Valley water plan.
Water management
Summary
| Type of water | Management |
|---|---|
| Surface water | Check the water plan information below for rules and requirements. |
| Overland flow | Not managed |
| Underground water | Check the water plan information below for rules and requirements. |
Water plan information
- Water plan – to be read in conjunction with the provisions of the resource operations plan included in the water plan (PDF, 2.2MB)
- Water management protocol (PDF, 643KB)
- Access historical documents and reports and previous water plans
- Access the latest Minister's performance report (2019) (PDF, 2.0MB) or previous reports for the plan
Water supply scheme operators
The following schemes operate in the water plan area. Check the relevant operations manual for day-to-day operational, water sharing and seasonal water assignment rules.
| Name | Operator | Licence | Manual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer River Water Supply Scheme | Sunwater | Resource operations licence (PDF, 118KB) | Operations manual (PDF, 288KB) |
| Pioneer River Water Supply Scheme | Pioneer Valley Water Board | Distribution operations licence (PDF, 3MB) | Operations manual (PDF, 137KB) |
| Eton Water Supply Scheme | Sunwater | Resource operations licence (PDF, 213KB) | Operations manual (PDF, 731KB) |
| Eton Water Supply Scheme | Eton Irrigation Cooperative Ltd | Distribution operations licence (PDF, 331KB) | Operations manual (PDF, 445KB) |
Accessing water
Follow the links below for more information on how to access water in the water plan area.
| Announced entitlements and limits | The water you can take through your water entitlement may be limited. Check announced entitlements and limits for unsupplemented water or contact the water supply scheme operator for supplemented water. |
|---|---|
| Unallocated water releases | No current releases |
| Water allocation trading – water supply schemes | Pioneer River: Allocation trading and rules | Current locations of water allocations |
| Water allocation trading – unsupplemented water | Pioneer Groundwater Management Area: Current locations of water allocations |
| Seasonal water assignment | Check the water management protocol (see above) for rules and read about the application process. |
Contact us
Contact the Mackay business centre for more information on water management and how you can access water in the Pioneer Valley water plan area.
Also consider...
- Explore the various ways we use science to develop, monitor, review and evaluate our water plans using our interactive storymap.
- Read Queensland's water plans in a variable and changing climate report to understand how water plans incorporate climate science and manage the risks of climate variability.
- Get streamflow and groundwater data from the Queensland Government Water monitoring information portal.
- Access maps and water data using Queensland Globe or the water entitlement viewer.
- Find out about river improvement trusts and their work.
- Read about water planning and learn where to find information in the new water planning documents.
- Read the Water planning science plan 2020–2030 to find out how we use science to develop water plans and improve water planning.