How water is managed in the Whitsunday water plan area now

As part of the new water plan, we have a chance to reconsider how we manage water in the water plan area.

The current Whitsunday water plan sets the rules for allocation and use of:

• water in watercourses, lakes, and springs (surface water)
• overland flow
• groundwater.

The total volume of water that can be taken under all water licences in the Whitsunday water plan is 20,726ML.

Surface water

When water is taken directly from naturally-flowing watercourses, lakes, or springs, it is called unsupplemented water use. People in the Whitsunday water plan area and the coastal basins currently take unsupplemented water through water licences.

In the Whitsunday water plan area, a total of 7,377ML can be taken under the 47 volumetric water licences to take unsupplemented surface water. A total of 2,137 hectares can be irrigated under area-based water licences in the plan area. There are both volumetric and area-based licences to take unsupplemented surface water in the coastal basins outside the Whitsunday water plan area.

There is 1 major water dam in the area (Peter Faust Dam) that supplies supplemented water for urban and agricultural uses. The following schemes operate in the Whitsunday water plan area:

• Proserpine River Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Sunwater.
• Kelsey Creek Scheme owned and operated by Kelsey Creek Water Co-operative Limited.
• Six Mile Creek Scheme owned and operated by Six Mile Creek Irrigators Co-operative Limited.

Under the Whitsunday water plan, trading is only available for water allocations in the schemes. In the water supply scheme, there is 62,876ML that can be taken through the 183 water allocations. Information from Sunwater is that there is a low demand for more water trading. However, through this review we'd like to understand if there is a need to improve trading opportunities.

You do not need a water entitlement in the Whitsunday water plan area to access water if:

• your land parcel is next to, or intersected by, a watercourse (these are called riparian landholders)
  and
• you are using the water for domestic or stock purposes.

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

All water entitlements in the water plan area, other than licences for stock or domestic purposes, or licences in the Adromache and O'Connell subcatchments (D and E respectively) are measured. This means that only some water entitlement holders must have a valid water meter to measure their water usage.

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 taken and stored using works such as pumps, storages (dams), and/or ring tanks.

The Whitsunday water plan regulates the taking of overland flow water by limiting how much of this water can be held in a storage, tank or other works. A person may only build a new storage to capture overland flow water:

• for stock or domestic use
• or
• for any other purpose but with a capacity of under 20ML
• or
• to satisfy the requirements of an Environmental Authority issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.

If you're building a storage to capture overland flow water for any purpose, you'll need to check if the works are assessable or accepted development. Contact us on 1800 822 100 (toll free) during business hours or email NorthWPS@rdmw.qld.gov.au for more information.

Overland flow works that were in place before the water plan started in 2010 are called existing works. Existing works that can store more than 20ML can continue being used once they’re authorised through a works notification (PDF, 332KB). This notification isn’t needed if you're only using the water for stock or domestic purposes.

In this water plan area, there are 2 licences granted to take overland flow, both with a combined allowed storage size of 1,500ML.

As part of this new water plan, we will identify and assess overland flow storages across the water plan area.

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.

The entirety of the current Whitsunday water plan area is a groundwater management area, in which there are 126 groundwater licences. A total of 17,658ML can be taken through these entitlements.

You may only take groundwater in the Whitsunday Groundwater Management Area if you:

• have a water permit
• have a water licence
• are using existing works in an area where the plan doesn't require a licence
• are using it for stock or domestic purposes.

Bores, wells or other works that were in place before the water plan started in 2010, are called existing works. Existing works can continue being used once they're authorised through a works notification (PDF, 234KB). This notification isn't needed if you're only using the water for stock or domestic purposes.

If a works notification wasn't submitted, the works can now only be used for stock and domestic purposes. Anyone wanting to take groundwater for other uses must apply for a water licence.

To develop the new water plan, we'll use public feedback and scientific assessments to find the best way to manage groundwater use across the Whitsunday water plan.

Coastal basins

In the Don Basin, the northern area of the Proserpine Basin, and southern area of the O'Connell Basin, water taken from watercourses, lakes, springs is managed under the Water Act 2000. Groundwater in the Bowen Underground Water Area and the Dryander Underground Water Area is managed under the Water Regulation 2016.

Licences in the coastal basin areas are specified in multiple ways. Generally, these are:

• volume based – licence states a volume of water that may be taken in a water year
• area based – licence states an area that may be irrigated.