Western-Davenport Water Allocation Plan 2018 - 2021
Details:
Title
Western-Davenport Water Allocation Plan 2018 - 2021,
Creator
Northern Territory. Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
Editor
Bond, Tim,
Collection
E-Publications,
E-Books,
PublicationNT,
30/2018,
Date
2018-12,
Location
Western Davenport Plains,
Description
The Northern Territory Government has committed to the long term sustainable management of the Territory’s water resources through its 2016 Sustainable Water Use Policy (NT Government 2016). Consistent with this goal, this Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan 2018-2021 (WDWAP) has been declared under section 22B(1) of the Water Act (the Act). It replaces the WAP which was declared in 2011.
The WDWAP applies to the Western Davenport Water Control District (the District), which covers an area of almost 24,500 square kilometres located approximately 150 kilometres south of Tennant Creek. Its purpose is to ensure that water resources are managed in a way that protects and maintains environmental and cultural values while allowing water to be sustainably used for productive consumptive beneficial uses.
The objectives of the WDWAP are to:
1. Meet the environmental water requirements of water dependent ecosystems.
2. Protect Aboriginal cultural values associated with water and provide access to water resources to support local Aboriginal economic development.
3. Allocate water for future public water supply and rural stock and domestic purposes.
4. Provide equitable access to water to support ecologically sustainable regional economic development.
Development of the WDWAP commenced in 2016 and included formal public consultation on a draft in May and June 2017. It incorporates the advice of the Western Davenport Water Advisory Committee (WDWAC). Land owners, including Traditional Owners, pastoral lessees and business owners have been consulted during the development of this WAP. The identification of areas of cultural significance has been informed by consultation with Traditional Owners and assisted by the Central Land Council (CLC).
The WDWAP allocates surface and groundwater resources within the District.
Three management zones have been recognised. These are hydrogeologically distinct environments occurring within the WDWAP area. These are the Davenport Ranges, the Southern Ranges and the Central Plains (Figure 1). The major groundwater resource occurs within the Central Plains Management Zone.
Surface water resources are ephemeral and limited throughout.
The WAP is based upon a substantially improved scientific basis to the previous WAP. Key improvements are:
• a new groundwater model (Knapton 2017)
• additional hydrogeological information based upon the results of drilling, remote sensing data, groundwater monitoring programs and information from production bores
• consultation with the Traditional Owners which has highlighted the importance and some of the conservation requirements for cultural values reliant on water resources
• research and interrogation of data on the existence and requirements for protection of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs).,
Notes
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).,
Table of contents
1 Summary -- 1.1 Estimated Sustainable Yield (ESY) -- 1.1.1 Surface water resources -- 1.1.2 Groundwater resources -- 2 Introduction -- 2.1 Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan -- 2.2 The Western Davenport WAP area -- 2.2.1 WAP area -- 2.2.2 Description -- 2.2.3 Population and land uses -- 2.3 Term of the WAP -- 2.4 Context -- 2.5 WAP development process -- 3 Purpose and Objectives -- 4 Water resources (supply and condition) -- 4.1 Climate and rainfall -- 4.2 Surface water resources -- 4.3 Groundwater resources -- 4.3.1 Groundwater recharge -- 4.4 Hydrological modelling -- 4.4.1 Natural water balance -- 4.4.2 Modelled groundwater availability -- 5 Water use -- 5.1 Water use overview -- 5.2 Non-consumptive use -- 5.2.1 Environmental water use -- 5.2.2 Cultural water use -- 5.3 Consumptive use -- 5.3.1 Current surface water use -- 5.3.2 Current groundwater use -- 5.3.3 Future consumptive requirements -- 6 Estimated Sustainable Yield -- 6.1 Waterways -- 6.2 Groundwater -- 7 Risk ad uncertainty -- 7.1 Climate variability and change -- 7.2 Distribution of GDEs and limits of extraction -- 7.3 Distribution of cultural values which could rely on groundwater access -- 7.4 Proposed development and land use change -- 7.4.1 Changes in demand -- 7.4.2 Impacts of land use on water quality -- 7.4.3 Egress of water from the District -- 7.4.4 Resource estimates for the Southern Ranges and Davenport Ranges Management Zones -- 7.4.5 Groundwater model limitations and assumptions -- 7.4.6 Uncertainty in calculation of the ESY from regolith -- 7.4.7 Estimated water use -- 8 Water management arrangements -- 8.1 Allocation of water to beneficial uses under the WAP -- 8.1.1 Environmental water allocations -- 8.1.2 Cultural water allocations -- 8.1.3 Consumptive use allocations -- 8.1.4 Allocation of the consumptive pool to beneficial uses -- 8.2 Protection of environmental and cultural values -- 8.2.1 Terrestrial vegetation groundwater dependent ecosystems -- 8.2.2 Aboriginal cultural values -- 8.2.3 Monitoring triggers -- 8.3 Licensing and other relevant regulation and policy -- 8.3.1 Groundwater licences -- 8.3.2 Surface water licences -- 8.3.3 Licence conditions -- 8.3.4 Unused water -- 8.3.5 Water trading -- 8.3.6 Licensed use from SWR allocations -- 8.3.7 Other relevant polices -- 8.4 Reporting obligations -- 8.4.1 WAP implementation activities -- 9 Risk identification and mitigation strategies -- 9.1 Risk assignment -- 10 WAP implementation, monitoring and review -- 10.1 Adaptive management framework -- 10.2 Implementation -- 10.2.1 Monitoring implementation of the WAP -- 10.3 Evaluation of WAP implementation -- 10.3.1 Evaluation of WAP impact and appropriateness -- 10.3.2 Evaluation of WAP effectiveness -- 10.3.3 Evaluation of outputs -- 10.4 Reviewing the WAP -- Schedule 1: Stakeholder engagement and consultation -- Schedule 2: Western Davenport WCD Regional Aquifer Cross Section -- Schedule 3: Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserve Eligible Rights Holders -- Schedule 4: Eligible Land for Strategic Aboriginal Water Reserve -- Schedule 5: Risk definition and classification -- Appendix 1: Gazettal of the Western Davenport Water Control District -- Appendix 2: Gazettal of Beneficial Uses: Western Davenport Water Control District -- Appendix 3. Gazettal of the Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan,
Language
English,
Subject
Water-supply -- Northern Territory -- Western Davenport Plains,
Water -- Northern Territory -- Western Davenport Plains -- Composition,
Water-supply -- Northern Territory -- Western Davenport Plains -- Management,
Water quality -- Northern Territory -- Western Davenport Plains -- Analysis,
Water Allocation Plan,
Western Davenport Water Control District,
Publisher name
Northern Territory Government,
Place of publication
Darwin,
Edition
1,
Series
30/2018,
Format
80 pages : colour illustrations and maps ; 30 cm.,