Water Plan (Cooper Creek) 2011

This water plan may be cited as the Water Plan (Cooper Creek) 2011.

The following are the purposes of this plan—

to define the availability of water in the plan area;

to provide a framework for sustainably managing water and the taking of water;

to identify priorities and mechanisms for dealing with future water requirements;

to regulate the taking of overland flow water.

The dictionary in schedule 9 defines particular words used in this plan.

This plan applies to the area shown as the plan area on the map in schedule 1.

Each part of the plan area that is within a subcatchment area shown on the map in schedule 1 is a subcatchment area for this plan.

The exact location of the boundaries of the plan area and subcatchment areas is held in digital electronic form by the department.

The information held in digital electronic form can be reduced or enlarged to show the details of the boundaries.

A node mentioned in this plan is a place on a watercourse in the plan area.

The location of each node is shown on the map in schedule 1 and described in schedule 2.

Each node is identified on the map by a number.

This plan applies to the following water in the plan area—

water in a watercourse or lake;

water in springs not connected to water to which the Water Plan (Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers) 2017 applies;

overland flow water, other than water in springs connected to water to which the Water Plan (Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers) 2017 applies.

Groundwater that is hydraulically linked to water in a watercourse, lake or spring is declared to be water in the watercourse.

An owner of land may take hydraulically linked groundwater under the land for stock or domestic purposes.

Water is to be allocated and sustainably managed in a way that seeks to achieve a balance in the following outcomes—

the general outcomes mentioned in section 11;

the ecological outcomes mentioned in section 12;

the social and economic outcomes mentioned in section 13.

Each of the following is a general outcome for water in the plan area—

to manage water in a way consistent with relevant national and international obligations and agreements, particularly the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovermental Agreement;

to manage hydraulically linked groundwater and surface water as a single resource;

to manage water in a way that minimises impact on the duration, magnitude, frequency and seasonality of natural flow regimes;

to support water-related cultural values in the plan area, including the values of the traditional owners of the plan area;

to account for the modelled impacts of climate change on water availability, including the effects of increased duration of low flow periods and no flow periods, and the effect of increased evaporation rates from waterholes.

Each of the following is an ecological outcome for water in the plan area—

to the extent possible, to maintain the ecological integrity and natural function of in-stream, riparian, wetland and floodplain ecosystems by minimising changes to natural flow regimes, both in the plan area and downstream of the plan area in the South Australian part of the Cooper Creek catchment;

to maintain lateral and longitudinal connectivity between waterholes by minimising the impacts on flow patterns resulting from new authorisations granted for the plan area;

to maintain the variability and seasonality of water flow patterns, including the frequency and duration of high flows, no flows and low flows, by minimising the impacts of water extractions due to new authorisations granted for the plan area;

to minimise the impact on pool and waterhole habitats of drawdown due to water extractions allowed under new authorisations granted for the plan area.