Our role
The Kimberley regional office aims to ensure sustainable water use through:
- understanding our water resources
- protecting and managing high value water assets and
- engaging the Kimberley community in water resource planning & management.
The Kimberley region stretches from the NT border, west across the northern coastal areas down the coast south of Broome into the Lagrange area and back across to the NT border through the Sandy Desert.
Western Australia's Kimberley region has approximately 30 major rivers and many more tributaries and tidal creeks. Many Kimberley rivers are unique and represent important examples of some of Australia's, and the world's, last remaining natural river systems. They are, however, under increasing pressure from threats such as weeds, overgrazing, new roads, tourism, feral animals, increased mining and exploration activity and inappropriate use and development.
The region has one of the largest rivers in Australia, the Fitzroy and the largest man made inland Lake, Lake Argyle situated on the Ord. There are also significant groundwater resources in the region which supply key mining operations, pastoral activities, town water supplies and a large number of irrigation and industrial operations.
The key areas of operation for staff in the region include:
- measuring and collecting information on Kimberley water resources using water measurement gauging stations and groundwater monitoring
- community engagement in regional and allocation planning
- water licensing, compliance and allocation
- joint management of a substantial Indigenous reserve
- provision of advice and requirements for water quality protection and land use planning and
- key external projects including the Fitzroy surface water - groundwater interaction project which aims to improve our understanding of the hydrologic and hydrogeological processes of the Fitzroy River, including groundwater and surface water interactions.
Key functions 2008/2010
Waterways planning:
- improve waterways planning and management through integration and engagement with federal, state, regional and local groups. This includes the incorporation of waterways management objectives into catchment scale planning through partnerships, on-ground projects and education programs.
- provide support measures to protect environmentally significant waterways including input to externals waterways prioritisation processes, expanding on existing ecological knowledge and the transfer of knowledge through key projects.
Key Projects: Waterways education, support for the Camballin Fishway, aquatic health monitoring and research, representation of the Department at key local and regional stakeholder meetings.
Water resources policy and planning:
- development of a Kimberley Regional Water plan which aims to set the overall strategic direction for water resource management in the Kimberley over the next 10-20 years.
- stakeholder engagement and development of key policies to address and support regional water resource management objectives.
Land use planning, water quality protection and reserve management:
- integrating water management principles into land use planning
- implementation of Water Source Protection Plans across the Region and
- implementing the management plan for Reserve 31165 on the eastern and southern boundary of Lake Argyle, jointly managed with the Miriwiung Gajerrong people.
Water resource use:
- assess and issue groundwater and surface water licences and permits
- undertake licence and compliance surveys
- investigate potential incidents and non-compliance activities as they arise and
- contribute to the Kimberley Regional and Allocation Planning Processes.
Key projects: Assist in the implementation and setting of priorities for key developments in the region including Ord Stage 2 and the North West Gas hub; manage the Ord Irrigation Cooperative's licence; undertake regular surveys of water use in groundwater subareas and surface water resources.
Measurement:
- Maintain an understanding of the quantity and quality of the Kimberley water resources through operating and supporting monitoring programs across the region.
- Supporting the departments functions of water resources assessment, water allocation and planning by providing valued and accurate water information that is timely and relevant.
Regional coordination and administration:
- coordinate and integrate DoW programs into efficient and effective regional delivery and
- build strong strategic stakeholder engagement and partnerships into DoW programs.
Special projects
Fitzroy surface water - groundwater interaction project, runs for 3 years and is funded by the National Water Commission. The objectives of the project are:
- to improve our understanding of the hydrologic processes of the Fitzroy River, including groundwater and surface water interactions
- to contribute water resource information for better environmental, cultural and economic assessments for the water management planning in the Fitzroy River
- to identify methods, approaches and understandings gained from this project that can be applied to other Australian northern rivers and
- to provide links to other related work programs on Australia's northern rivers, including work being conducted by the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) project, the Northern Australian Water Futures Assessment (NAWFA) project, Northern Australian CSIRO Sustainable Yield Study, North Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), and any other National Water Initiative activities
Key contacts
Kununurra Regional Office
The Department of Water
Kimberley Regional Office
27 Victoria Hwy
KUNUNURRA WA 6743
Postal Address:
PO BOX 625
KUNUNURRA WA 6743
Ph: (08) 9166 4100
Fax: (08) 9168 3174