Water Resource (Whitsunday) Plan 2010

This water resource plan may be cited as the Water Resource (Whitsunday) Plan 2010.

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 provide a framework for establishing water allocations to take surface water;

to provide a framework for reversing, where practicable, degradation that has occurred in natural ecosystems;

to regulate the taking of overland flow water;

to regulate the taking of groundwater.

The dictionary in schedule 8 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 2 is a subcatchment area for this plan.

Groundwater in an aquifer under the relevant watercourse or under land adjacent to the relevant watercourse is declared to be water in a watercourse.

Subsection (1) does not apply to water that is not hydraulically connected to water in the relevant watercourse.

The owner of land adjacent to the relevant watercourse may take the groundwater for stock or domestic purposes.

In this section—

land adjacent, to the relevant watercourse, means land within 200m either side of the relevant watercourse.

under, a relevant watercourse or land adjacent to the relevant watercourse, means under the watercourse or land to an unspecified depth.

relevant watercourse means the Proserpine River AMTD 25.7km to 57.0km.

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 3, part 1; and

described in schedule 3, part 2.

Each node is identified on the map by a number.

This plan applies to the following water (surface water) in the plan area—

water in a watercourse, lake or spring;

overland flow water.

This plan also applies to groundwater in the plan area.

Water is to be allocated and sustainably managed in a way that—

recognises the natural state of watercourses, lakes, and springs has changed because of water infrastructure, flow supplementation and the taking of water; and

seeks to achieve a balance in the following outcomes—

the general outcomes mentioned in section 11;

the general ecological outcomes mentioned in sections 12 and 13;

the specific ecological outcomes mentioned in section 14.

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

to protect the probability of being able to take water under a water allocation;

to support water-related cultural values, including the cultural values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, in the plan area;

to provide for the continued use of all—

existing water entitlements; and

existing overland flow works; and

existing water bores;

to make water available to support—

irrigated agriculture in the plan area; and

urban and industrial growth in the plan area; and

stock or domestic purposes in the plan area; and

water-related aesthetic, economic and recreational values in the plan area, including, for example, tourism;

to make surface water in the following areas available to support growth in irrigated agriculture and water supplies for urban and industrial uses—

subcatchment area B;

subcatchment area C;

subcatchment area D;

subcatchment area E;

to maintain the ability to take surface water or groundwater for stock or domestic purposes;

to encourage continual improvement in the efficient use of water;

to ensure water is available to support natural ecosystem processes.

In this section—

existing water entitlement means a water entitlement in force immediately before the plan notification day.

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

to maintain the natural variability of flows that support the habitats of native plants and animals and migratory birds in watercourses, floodplains, wetlands, lakes and springs;

to provide for the continued capability of 1 part of a river system to be connected to another, including by maintaining flood flows that—

allow for the movement of native aquatic animals between riverine, floodplain, wetland, estuarine and marine environments; and

deliver nutrients and organic matter throughout the plan area to support natural processes such as breeding, growth and migration in riverine, floodplain, wetland, estuarine and marine environments; and

deliver water and sediment throughout the plan area to support river-forming processes;

to minimise changes to natural variability in water levels and to support natural ecological processes, including maintaining refugia associated with waterholes and lakes;

to promote improved understanding of the matters affecting flow-related health of ecosystems in the plan area;

to provide a flow regime that—

supports native fish passage within watercourses in the plan area; and

supports ecological productivity in the receiving waters of the Great Barrier Reef, inshore reefs and Repulse Bay; and

maintains delivery of fresh water to the estuaries of watercourses in the plan area and Repulse Bay; and

maintains natural sedimentation processes to support delivery of sediment and nutrients to estuaries in the plan area.

In this section—

native fish passage means the natural movement patterns of native fish species required to maintain the biological integrity of the species.

refugia means habitats or places supporting populations of animals or plants not able to live elsewhere in the surrounding landscape.Example of refugia in an aquatic system—

Habitats or places where animals or plants may take refuge from drought conditions, floods and high flows, high water temperatures and predation by other animals.