How we manage water in the Georgina and Diamantina
As part of the review, we have a chance to reconsider how we manage water in the area.
The Georgina and Diamantina water plan sets the rules for allocation and use of:
- surface water in watercourses (rivers, streams, creeks etc), lakes and springs
- overland flow water
- groundwater that is closely linked or connected to surface water.
A total of 6,108ML of this water is allocated through five entitlements (water licences).
Water in watercourses, lakes and springs
Most entitlement holders in the Georgina and Diamantina take their water directly from the watercourses. This is called unsupplemented water use.
There are no major water storages (dams) that supply supplemented water for urban use, agriculture or mining activities in the water plan area.
People do not need a water entitlement to access water when:
- their land parcel is next to or intersected by a watercourse (these are called riparian landholders)
- they are using the water for domestic or stock purposes.
This type of water access is authorised in Queensland under the Water Act 2000 (the Act).
All water taken for purposes other than stock or domestic within the Georgina and Diamantina region must be measured. This means that these water entitlement holders must have a valid water meter to measure their water usage.
As we review the water plan, we can consider limiting the taking of water for stock or domestic uses in non-riparian areas (land parcels that do not border or intersect with a watercourse). This may be needed to protect other water uses or to achieve certain outcomes of the water plan.
What do you think?
Do you think we should change rules for taking water for stock or domestic purposes and/or limit the taking of this water?Tell us in your submission.
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.
The Georgina and Diamantina water plan allows for the taking of overland flow water without a water entitlement, if the water is being taken:
- for stock or domestic purposes
- to satisfy the requirements of an authority under the Environmental Protection Act 1994, for example, to manage contaminated agricultural runoff.
Taking overland flow water for other purposes would require a water entitlement in the form of a water licence.
Overland flow water is taken using ‘works’ such as pumps, dams and/or tanks.
The current water plan started in 2004. If you had existing works to take overland flow already in place then, you can continue to take water provided the department has been notified (using this form (PDF, 332.0KB)) of these works.
This excludes works that allow taking overland flow water only for stock or domestic purposes.
If you’re building a storage to capture overland flow water, you will need to check if the works are assessable or accepted development. You should contact your local office for more information.
As part of this review, we will conduct a scientific assessment to identify overland flow storages across the water plan area.
What do you think?
Do you think we should change rules for taking overland flow water?Tell us in your submission.
More information about overland flow
- Read Division 2 in the water plan for details on overland flow water management arrangements in the Georgina and Diamantina.
- Read section 12 and Schedule 3 (for definition of existing works) in the water plan for details on overland flow works and notification arrangements.
Groundwater
Groundwater or underground water is the water beneath the earth's surface that occurs in pore spaces and fractures of rock formations called aquifers. In the Georgina and Diamantina it is managed in three ways:
- the water plan manages underground water in aquifers that connect with surface water
- the Water Regulation 2016 manages underground water in aquifers located within the two declared areas–the Greater Western and the Upper Georgina underground water areas (PDF, 1.7MB)–that are not part of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB)
- underground water in GAB aquifers is managed under the Water Plan (Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers) 2017 (PDF, 1.2MB). GAB aquifers are under the Georgina and Diamantina aquifers in most parts of the water plan area, except for the upper Georgina River catchment.
In this map of Queensland, you can see that the GAB (indicated in brown) lies under most of the Georgina and Diamantina catchment area.
© Queensland Government
Find out more about the full extent of Queensland’s portion of the GAB.
In some parts of the Georgina and Diamantina, groundwater connects with surface water. Because these water resources are so closely interconnected, we manage them in the same way.
This means that if you take water from an aquifer that is connected to surface water, you must have a licence . This rule does not apply for water used for stock or domestic purposes.
We will do scientific assessments to give us more information about groundwater hydrology in the plan area. We will use this information to better manage groundwater resources.
What do you think?
Do you think we should change the arrangements for managing groundwater in the Georgina and Diamantina?Tell us in your submission.
More information about groundwater
Last updated: 29 Apr 2024