A water allocation plan (plan) is currently under development for the Adelaide River catchment and is due to be completed in 2026. The plan area covers an area of 7455 km2 and includes all catchments and subcatchments of the Adelaide River and its tributaries, from the headwaters in Litchfield National Park to the coastal plains of the Arafura Sea extending up to Cape Hotham and includes all rivers and creeks flowing into the Adelaide River including its major tributary, the Margaret River. The plan will manage surface water resources, however a parallel Darwin Rural strategy coupled with the extension of the Darwin Rural water control district to include the Adelaide River catchment, will aid in collecting groundwater use data. As a part of development of the plan a water resources assessment was undertaken to bring together historical and contemporary data and knowledge to describe the hydrological (surface water) features and characteristics of the Adelaide River catchment.,
Notes
Made available by via Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT),
Table of contents
Acronyms -- Glossary -- 1. Executive summary -- 2. Introduction -- 2.1 Purpose -- 2.2 Study area -- 2.3 Previous studies -- 2.4 Physiography -- 2.5 Climate -- 2.6 Climate variation -- 3. Groundwater resources -- 3.1 Geology -- 3.2 Aquifer types -- 3.3 Groundwater management zones -- 3.4 Recharge -- 3.5 Monitoring network -- 3.6 Modelling -- 4. Surface water resources -- 4.1 Catchment characteristics -- 4.2 Hydrological characteristics -- 4.3 Waterways of the Adelaide River catchment -- 4.5 Surface water quality -- 5. Ecological classification -- 5.1 Class definitions -- 5.2 Spatial variation of ecological classes -- 5.3 Seasonal variation of wetland extent -- 5.4 Wetland condition change index results -- 6. Water availability -- 6.1 Annual natural water balance -- 6.2 Wet season take -- 7. Conclusions -- 8. Recommendation -- 8.1 Short term recommendations -- 8.2 Medium-term recommendations -- 8.3 Monitoring recommendations -- 9. References -- 10. Appendices -- 10.1 Appendix A – Groundwater monitoring network -- 10.2 Appendix B – SILO drill rainfall data -- 10.3 Appendix C – Hydrological analyses -- 10.4 Appendix D – Flow duration curves,
Language
English,
Subject
Groundwater resources,
Management zones,
Ecological classification,
Surface water resrouces,
Water catchment area,
Publisher name
Northern Territory Government,
Place of publication
Palmerston (NT),
Series
Technical Report ; 07/2025,
Format
136 pages : colour illustrations and maps ; 30 cm,