Growing water needs in the Pioneer Valley water plan area

We need to review how sharing water is balanced between all water interests, including the environment, cultural and downstream users.

We need to balance growing demand for water to use in urban development, agriculture and cultural activities with the known impacts of those industries and all the other identified interests and values.

The current Pioneer Valley water plan sets the rules for allocation and use of water in watercourses, lakes, and springs (surface water) and underground water. Overland flow is not currently managed.

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 or low risk prescribed activities).

Surface water

When water is taken directly from naturally flowing watercourses, lakes, or springs, it is called unsupplemented surface water use.

There are 2 major dams–Teemburra Dam and Kinchant dam–that supply supplemented surface water for urban use, industry and agricultural use. These dams are a part of 2 water supply schemes operated by Sunwater:

• Pioneer River Water Supply Scheme
• Eton Water Supply Scheme

Underground water

Groundwater (also called underground water) is water beneath the earth's surface that occurs in pore spaces and fractures of rock formations called aquifers. All groundwater in the Pioneer Valley water plan area is managed in the current water plan. All groundwater in the plan area is unsupplemented water.