Western Davenport water allocation plan
| Current plan | No plan is currently in place. |
|---|---|
| Previous plan | Western Davenport water allocation plan 2021 - 2022 |
| Map | Western Davenport water allocation plan map |
| Area | 24,594km2 |
| Declared | 6 December 2021 |
| Duration | 1 year |
| Review | A new water allocation plan is currently being prepared. |
| Expired | 7 December 2022 |
The plan applies to all surface water and groundwater within the Western Davenport water control district (WCD).
It covers 1.82% of the Northern Territory.
Plan objectives
The main objectives of the plan are to:
- meet the environmental water requirements of water dependent ecosystems
- protect Aboriginal cultural values associated with water
- provide access to water resources to support local Aboriginal economic development
- allocate water for future public water supply and rural stock and domestic purposes
- provide equitable access to water to support ecologically sustainable regional economic development.
For more information about objectives, strategies and performance indicators, read the Western Davenport water allocation plan 2021– 2022.
Beneficial uses
The beneficial uses of water in a WCD are:
- environment
- Aboriginal economic development.
The Administrator may set other categories and publish a notice in the Gazette.
Beneficial uses are set for groundwater and surface water in the WCD.
Read the Gazette that was published on 3 December 2021 in the special notice 40 PDF (192.5 KB).
Water resources
The surface water catchments and groundwater systems of the district are interconnected.
Flows from the Davenport Range and southern ranges recharge aquifers in the Central Plains water management zone.
Smaller local aquifers in the Davenport Range and southern ranges are also recharged by surface water flows and local rainfall.
Surface water
Surface water is mostly temporary and not a reliable source for consumptive use.
There are some rock holes and small springs in the ranges that are possibly permanent, which have important environmental and cultural value.
Allocations
There is currently no licensed surface water extraction within the WCD. Surface water can be used for rural stock and domestic purposes without a licence.
Licences
The plan doesn’t permit licensed surface water extraction activities within the plan area.
Groundwater
The estimated sustainable yield for groundwater is 168,405ML per year.
Allocations
The water allocation plan identifies 3 groundwater water management zones where an estimated sustainable yield has been established.
They represent unique water environments, with the Central Plains featuring higher yielding and better quality aquifers.
The water in these aquifers has been stored for thousands of years and is connected. This means extraction from one aquifer will affect the neighbouring aquifers.
Water resources in the southern ranges and Davenport ranges are limited and expected to be used mainly for stock purposes.
The estimated sustainable yield is the amount of water that can be taken while meeting the needs of environmental and cultural values of the water resource.
The table below shows the volume of water available under the estimated sustainable yield from each of the groundwater management zones in the water allocation plan.
| Water management zone | Estimated sustainable yield (ML per year) |
|---|---|
| Davenport ranges | 15,065 |
| Central Plains | 112,720 |
| Southern ranges | 40,620 |
| Total | 168,405 |
Licences
There are 11 licences granted for groundwater to be used for public water supply, agriculture and industry.
View the licences.
Aboriginal water reserves
Aboriginal water reserves have been established in the water allocation plan.
| Management zone | AWR total (ML per year) | AWR availability (ML per year) | Percent provisioned (%) | Water granted from the AWR (ML per year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Plains | 26,091 | 26,091 | 100 | 0 |
| Davenport ranges | 3,293 | 3,293 | 100 | 0 |
| Southern range | 3,941 | 3,941 | 100 | 0 |
| Total | 33,325 | 33,325 | 100 | 0 |
Reports and publications
- The potential for groundwater use by vegetation in the Australian arid zone PDF (3.5 MB)
- Development of a groundwater model for the Western Davenport Plains PDF (51.4 MB)
- Western Davenport water allocation plan 2011 to 2021
- Western Davenport water allocation plan 2018 to 2021
- Western Davenport report on community engagement 2017
- Special Gazette S114, December 2018, revocation and declaration of Western Davenport water allocation plan
- Risk of salinity due to irrigation developments in the Western Davenport Basin, December 2021, prepared by Flinders University for the National Water Grid Authority
- Western Davenport stock water use 2022
Maps
Water extraction licences
The below documents may be useful to applicants of water extraction licences in the Western Davenport water control district.
- Guideline: limits of acceptable change to groundwater dependent vegetation in the Western Davenport WCD PDF (1.7 MB)
- Fact sheet: Western Davenport water allocation plan PDF (950.1 KB)
- Simplified fact sheet - Western Davenport water allocation plan PDF (3.7 MB)
- Western Davenport - water resource and availability PDF (1.3 MB)
- Western Davenport - groundwater storage diagram PDF (1.2 MB)
New plan
A full review of the current plan is complete and a new draft 10-year plan has been prepared.
The review and the draft plan has been developed with the input from the Western Davenport and Ti Tree Water Advisory Committee.
This statutory committee has diverse membership representing Aboriginal, horticultural, environment, remote community supplies, NT Farmers, community interests and the Central Land Council.
The feedback period has closed. To keep up to date with the review, go to the Have Your Say website.
Contact
If you have any questions about permits or licensing requirements in the area, email water.licensing@nt.gov.au.
For water planning enquiries, email waterresources@nt.gov.au.