How water is managed now

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The current water plans for the Fitzroy, Boyne River and the Calliope River basins set rules for allocating and using:

water in watercourses (river, streams, creeks etc), lakes and springs
overland flow water (only regulated within the Fitzroy Basin and Calliope River Basin water plan areas)
groundwater, or underground water (only regulated within the Fitzroy Basin water plan area).

A total of 1,084,276ML of this water is currently allocated through entitlements across the three water plans.

Pie chart showing the volume of water allocated through water entitlements in the proposed Central Queensland water plan area. It includes supplemented surface water allocations, unsupplemented surface water allocations, unsupplemented surface water licences, groundwater allocations, groundwater licences and overland flow water. The total amount of water allocated through entitlements in this area is 1,084,276ML.

Water taken from watercourses, lakes, springs is managed in the coastal areas of Styx, Waterpark and Shoalwater basins through the Water Act 2000. Groundwater in the Farnborough underground management area is managed under the Water Regulation 2016 (PDF, 2.8MB).

This table shows what is managed under the existing three water plans and in the coastal areas not currently in a water plan.

What can be managed	Fitzroy	Boyne	Calliope	Coastal
Watercourse water	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Overland flow water	Yes	No	Yes	No
Groundwater	Yes	No	No	Yes
Unallocated water	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Water trading	Yes	Yes	No	No
Water allocations	Yes	Yes	No	No
Water licences	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resource Operations Licence (ROL) for water supply schemes	Yes (6)	Yes (1)	No	No
Distribution Operations Licence (DOL)	Yes (2)	No	No	No

If we develop a Central Queensland (CQ) water plan, we will use science and consultation to consider aligning these management arrangements across the region. This would not necessarily mean major changes to how water is currently managed, it would just bring the rules neatly into the water planning framework.

Water in watercourses, lakes and springs

When water is taken directly from the watercourses, lakes or springs, it is called unsupplemented water use. People in this CQ area currently take unsupplemented surface water through either water licences or water allocations.

There are several water supply schemes that supply supplemented water from dams and weirs for various purposes in the area which include:

Awoonga Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Gladstone Area Water Board
Dawson Valley Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Sunwater
Callide Valley Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Sunwater
Theodore Channel Scheme (Dawson Valley Water Supply Scheme) owned and operated by Theodore Water
Nogoa Mackenzie Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Sunwater
Fitzroy Barrage Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Rockhampton Regional Council
Lower Fitzroy Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Sunwater
Rookwood Weir Water Supply Scheme owned and operated by Sunwater
Emerald Channel Scheme (Nogoa Mackenzie Water Supply Scheme) owned and operated by Fairnbairn Irrigation Network Pty Ltd.

Pie chart showing the supplemented water allocations provided through the Dawson Valley, Lower Fitzroy, Callide Valley, Rookwood Weir, Nogoa Mackenzie, Fitzroy Barrage and Awoonga water supply schemes. The total amount of water allocated through these schemes is 551,849ML.

What do you think?

What do think of the current water management rules in your part of the proposed plan area?

If you have supplemented water, are you discussing any changes to the rules with the scheme owner (for example, Sunwater) or water distributor (for example, Fairbairn Irrigation Network or Theodore Water)?

If yes, are the changes that you want supported or limited by the water plan?

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.

People capture overland flow using pumps, channels or drains and store this water in tanks or dams. In water plans, we call these types of things ‘works’.

Under the Boyne River Basin water plan, overland flow capture is currently unregulated which means people do not need a water entitlement to take it.

The water plans for the Fitzroy and the Calliope River basins allow people to take overland flow without a water entitlement, if the water is being taken:

for stock and domestic use
to satisfy the requirements of an authority under the Environmental Protection Act 1994, for example, to manage contaminated agricultural runoff.
for any purpose if a new storage is no more than:
- 5ML in the Calliope River Basin
- 5ML for overland flow that is downstream of the Fitzroy Barrage subcatchment area (shown in the map below)
- 50ML for other parts of the Fitzroy Basin water plan area.

Map showing the location of the overland flow management area that is downstream of the Fitzroy Barrage subcatchment. The take of overland flow for any purposes is permitted in this area for storage of no more than 5ML. In all other areas of the Fitzroy Basin, this limit is 50ML.

Map showing the area downstream of the Fitzroy Barrage subcatchment.

As part of this review, we will conduct a scientific assessment to identify overland flow storages across the whole CQ area. We will use this information, along with public feedback, to determine the most appropriate storage limits or other regulations for the taking of overland flow for the whole CQ region.

What do you think?

How should we manage overland flow in CQ?

Should the storage limits be changed?

Should overland flow be regulated in the Boyne and the coastal areas?

Tell us in your submission.

Groundwater

Under the Fitzroy Basin water plan, groundwater is managed by either preventing new development to protect existing water users, or by implementing management rules in high use areas to ensure water is accessed equitably. Groundwater is particularly important to sustaining irrigation in the Callide Valley and Don and Dee groundwater management areas.

Map showing the groundwater management areas within the proposed Central Queensland water plan area.

There are no groundwater management areas in the Boyne River Basin or Calliope River Basin water plan areas.

If you are outside of a groundwater management area, you may still drill a bore to access water in addition to constructing a bore to supply stock and domestic water.

The Farnborough underground water area within the Waterpark Basin is currently regulated under the Water Regulation 2016. We’re proposing is to bring these existing rules for this area into the CQ water plan and protocol.

Map showing the location of the Farnborough Groundwater Management Area within Waterpark Basin in Queensland

Map showing where Farnborough underground water area is located.

As we review these water plans, we will use public feedback and scientific assessments to find the best way to manage groundwater use across the CQ region.

What do you think?

How should we manage groundwater in CQ?

Tell us in your submission.

More information

Fitzroy Basin:

Boyne River Basin:

Calliope River Basin:

Last updated: 02 Aug 2024