Water Act
Water is one of the most fundamental and valued resources within the Katherine Region. It is vital for the wellbeing, prosperity and lifestyles enjoyed by many Territorians. It is also of critical importance to the health of pristine and delicate regional ecosystems such as the Katherine and Daly Rivers.
Water in the region is not in endless supply and therefore careful and thorough planning is required to ensure that the health of the river and groundwater systems is maintained for generations to come.
Through the Water Act, water control districts and water allocation plans, the Northern Territory Government is striving to achieve a sustainable balance between development and conservation so that residents, tourists and businesses can continue to enjoy the benefits derived from river and groundwater systems that are properly managed.
The Water Act enshrines in law the allocation of water to various declared beneficial uses including; agriculture, aquaculture, public water supply, riparian and industry while ensuring that adequate provisions are made to maintain cultural and environmental requirements.
The Water Act allows for the declaration of water allocation plans within water control districts, ensuring water is equitably managed to preserve quality of life and the integrity of the water dependent ecosystems in the region.
Water control districts are geographical areas declared under the Water Act by the Northern Territory Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage to allow for intensive management of water resources.
Water control districts are established in locations where there are competing water requirements and the declaration of a water allocation plan is required.
A water allocation plan outlines the vision, objectives, strategies and performance indicators for the particular water source/s implicated by the plan. It also sets limits to the availability of water assigned to each beneficial use, rules for managing licences and water trading. A
critical component of any water allocation plan is how it will be monitored. Monitoring is important to assess the performance of a plan and to inform reviews.
The benefits of this water allocation planning process are:
- a transparent stakeholder driven plan that will protect environmental and human interests;
- secure water extraction licences for the duration of the water allocation plan;
- an assurance that licences to extract water (from a source defined within the plan) will not be issued if they are deemed to have unacceptable repercussions on other beneficial uses, especially the environment;
- establishment of a basis for the permanent trade of water from one location to another (within the area defined by the plan) subject to various rules;
- protection of water related cultural values within the region; and
- protection of water dependent ecosystems within the region.
