Water Plan (Condamine and Balonne) 2019

section 3

adopted middle thread distance means the distance in kilometres, measured along the middle of a watercourse, from a specific point in the watercourse to the watercourse’s mouth, the watercourse’s junction with the main watercourse or the border between the State and New South Wales.

AMTD means adopted middle thread distance.

authorisation means—

a water allocation, water licence, water permit, seasonal water assignment notice or other authority to take water given under the Act or the repealed Act, other than a water permit for stock purposes or domestic purposes; or

a water licence, resource operations licence or distribution operations licence to interfere with water given under the Act or the repealed Act; or

an authority to take water given under another Act.

available water ratio, for a water allocation group, means the ratio of the average annual volume of water available for all water allocations in the group, to the total volumetric limit of all water allocations in the group.

average annual volume, of water, means the volume of the water expressed as a long-term modelled average over the simulation period for the water.

average volume means—

for surface water—the total volume of surface water simulated, using the eWater Source computer program, to have been taken during the simulation period for surface water under all authorisations in the plan area included in the computer program, divided by the number of years in the simulation period; or

for underground water—

the total volume of underground water simulated, using the MODFLOW computer program, to have been taken during the simulation period for underground water under all authorisations in the plan area included in the computer program, divided by the number of years in the simulation period; or

the estimated volume divided by 100.

certified report means a report that—

is verified and signed by a registered professional engineer under the Professional Engineers Act 2002; and

for a certified report about works used, or capable of being used, to take overland flow water, describes—

the nature and location of the works; and

how the works operate; and

the ability of the works to take the water.

daily water flow, at a node, means the volume of water that flows past the node in a day.

decision, for part 7, see section 32.

estimated volume means the total volume of underground water estimated by the chief executive—

to have been taken, during any continuous 100-year period, under all authorisations in the plan area, other than authorisations mentioned in definition average volume, paragraph (b)(i) or water licences to which water sharing rules do not apply; and

having regard to the following matters as at the commencement—

the volumetric limits applying to the authorisations;

the water sharing rules for the authorisations;

the conditions imposed on the authorisations.

eWater Source computer program means the eWater Source computer program used by the department to simulate daily stream flows, flow management, storages, releases, in-stream infrastructure, water diversions, water demands and other hydrological events in the plan area.

existing authorisation, in relation to a water allocation, means the authorisation from which the water allocation was converted.

existing overland flow works means overland flow works used, or capable of being used, to take overland flow water to which this plan applies, other than for stock purposes or domestic purposes, if the works—

were in existence on 20 September 2000; or

were started, but not finished, by 20 September 2000 and were completed by—

if a moratorium notice stated the works must be completed by a day (the completion day), and a variation of the moratorium notice to extend the completion day was granted—the day stated in the notice of decision given for the variation under section 27(5)(b) of the Act, as in force immediately before 6 December 2016; or

otherwise—30 November 2001; or

replace, or are a reconfiguration of, works mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) if the replacement or reconfiguration of the works did not increase the average annual volume of overland flow water to which this plan applies capable of being taken by the works.

flow threshold means a requirement about flow rate, the water level of a flow or flow duration.

flow management arrangement means an arrangement mentioned in section 82(2)(g) and stated in the water management protocol for this plan.

group S water licence, for part 10, division 6, see section 58.

irrigated area, for an existing authorisation, means the area, stated in the existing authorisation, that was able to be irrigated by water taken under the existing authorisation.

Lower Balonne means—

the impoundment of Beardmore Dam; and

the watercourses in the plan area downstream of the dam; and

the part of the plan area, downstream of the dam, over which floodwater from the Balonne River and its distributory streams intermittently flows.

MODFLOW computer program means the MODFLOW computer program used by the department to simulate the flow of underground water, water extractions, water demands, operational management and other hydrological events in the plan area.

moratorium notice means a moratorium notice published under section 26 of the Act, as in force immediately before 6 December 2016.

node see section 15(1).

nominal entitlement see the Water Regulation 2016, section 28(1).

notified existing overland flow works means existing overland flow works for which a notice was given to the chief executive under the repealed Water Plan (Condamine and Balonne) 2004, section 46(2)(b).

overland flow works means—

works used to store overland flow water, including, for example, a sump, drain, embankment, channel or pump; or

works that can be used to connect 2 or more works mentioned in paragraph (a).

performance ratio, for a group of water allocations, means—

if the purpose for taking water under the water allocations in the group is ‘productive base’—the average annual volume of water not available to be taken by holders of all water allocations in the group in the simulation period expressed as a percentage of the total of the nominal volume for all water allocations in the group; or

otherwise—the average annual volume of water that may be taken by holders of all water allocations in the group in the simulation period expressed as a percentage of the total of the nominal volume for all water allocations in the group.

relevant operating arrangements, for existing overland flow works, means the arrangements under which the works were operated, that were in place immediately before—

if the works were in existence on 20 September 2000—that date; or

for works started, but not finished, by 20 September 2000—

if a moratorium notice stated the works must be completed by a day (the completion day) and a variation of the moratorium notice to extend the completion day was granted—the day stated in the notice of decision given for the variation under section 27(5)(b) of the Act, as in force immediately before 6 December 2016; or

otherwise—30 November 2001.

relevant version of the Basin Plan, in relation to a provision of this plan, means the Basin Plan 2012 (Cwlth) as in force 2 years before the provision was given to the Minister under the Water Act 2007 (Cwlth), section 63(3)(c).

Note—

The Basin Plan 2012 (Cwlth) is made under the Water Act 2007 (Cwlth).

relevant water licence, for part 10, division 6, see section 58.

replacement water bore see the Water Regulation 2016, schedule 19.

simulation period means—

for surface water to which this plan applies—the period from 1 July 1895 to 30 June 2013; or

for underground water to which this plan applies—the period from 1 July 1895 to 30 June 2016.

surface water see section 4.

sustainable diversion limits means the long-term average sustainable diversion limits under the relevant version of the Basin Plan.

trading zone means an area stated to be a trading zone for water allocations under this plan.

underground water management area see section 10.

underground water sub-area see section 11(2).

underground water sub-unit see section 12(2).

underground water unit see section 12(1).

underground water zone see section 13(2).

unsupplemented surface water means surface water to which this plan applies that is not supplemented water within the meaning of the Water Regulation 2016, schedule 19.

variation, of a moratorium notice, means the variation of the moratorium notice under section 27 of the Act as in force immediately before 6 December 2016.

volumetric limit, for a water licence, means the maximum volume of water, in megalitres, that may be taken under the licence during a water year.

water management area zone see section 9(2).

water supply scheme zone see section 7(3).