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Government of Western Australia Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
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Finding new water resources, including Royalties for Regions-funded programs and other drilling programs to explore resources across the state.

Water allocation plans Photo from consultation for the Gingin groundwater allocation plan

Information about allocation plans, which set out how much water can be reliably taken from groundwater and surface water sources for productive purposes while ensuring the sustainability of the resource and protection of the water-dependent environment.

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Information about ensuring sustainable water supplies for the state’s population and industries, including the Water for Growth and Water for Food programs.

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Click here to apply for rebates and grants for farmers, pastoralists and rural communities to improve local water supplies and for information about assistance to help farmers access water during dry seasons.

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Integrated water and land use planning based on the principles of total water cycle management.

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Find out who is eligible to trade water entitlements and how applications are assessed. Click here to identify potential trading partners from the Water Register.

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Metering and measuring the water you take helps you understand your water usage to make the most of your entitlements and reduce your overall costs.

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New fees for water licence and permit applications are being introduced to the mining and public water supply sectors from the 13 November 2018, post

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We are updating our policy and legislation to deliver water resource management legislation that is flexible, progressive and capable of managing water today and in the future.

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Legislation and policy for Western Australia’s water service providers.

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Information about wastewater recycling, water efficiencies and the use of fit-for-purpose water. Recycling is encouraged whenever it is socially, economically and environmentally acceptable to make smart use of waste water for the ongoing development of the State.

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For information on groundwater, garden bores and waterwise gardens please visit our Be Groundwater Wise website. You can find questions and answers about garden bores,

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Protecting and managing public drinking water source areas including policies relating to public drinking water source areas, water source protection plans, water quality strategies and management and review processes.

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Information on the state’s groundwater resources, locations, investigations, aquifer recharge and sustainable management of water resources, including an overview of state groundwater investigations.

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Surface water, like rivers and streams used for public water supply, self-supply, irrigation, recreation and hydropower and rainfall and streamflow monitoring, catchment modelling and flood studies to manage surface water.

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There are 166 estuaries in Western Australia as established through the National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) 2000, where an estuary is defined as

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Click here for information on types of irrigators, licenses and the role of irrigation as an economic enabler for industry.

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Information on the department’s role in relation to the shale and tight gas industry.

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A detailed collection of online atlases and maps with information on the State’s water resources, including depth to groundwater, garden bore suitability, geology and proclaimed management areas.

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Lower Gascoyne water allocation plan

Plan release information

Gascoyne river levelsThe Lower Gascoyne water allocation plan and Statement of response were released in October 2011.

The Lower Gascoyne allocation methods report describes how the department decided on allocation limits in accordance with our planning process.

Parts of the plan were updated in March 2015 as an outcome of our 2013‑2014 evaluation of the plan. We made improvements to when a Low Aquifer Storage event is triggered and a number of local licensing policies. These changes are essential to adapting our water management in the plan area.

The improvements to the Low Aquifer Storage trigger provide better certainty for growers on how much freshwater is available for use when an event is announced.

The changes to the licensing policies will help licensees in Subarea A gain better access to both freshwater and water with higher salinity, under certain circumstances. This will give growers more opportunities to maximise the productive use of the resource.

For more information on the updates to the plan please contact the Gascoyne District office in Carnarvon on 08 9941 6100 or email allocation.planning@water.wa.gov.au.

Water allocation planning in the Lower GascoyneRiver levels

The Gascoyne River ground and surface water resources are vital to the Carnarvon community, in particular for town supply and the irrigated horticultural industry.

Water allocation planning in the Lower Gascoyne is needed to:

  • maximise the volume of water for abstraction, while minimising the risk to groundwater quality, individual licensee supply reliability, and to in situ values
  • ensure continued provision of good quality water from Subarea B‑L for the town of Carnarvon’s drinking water needs
  • support the increasing agricultural potential of the region by allocating additional water in Subarea B‑L, through water service providers
  • redistribute water abstraction from areas of poor water quality to areas of high water quality to avoid permanent salinity damage and maximise the productive use of the resource.

Plan area

The Lower Gascoyne plan area is about 900 kilometres north of Perth. It covers the Town of Carnarvon and the lower reaches of the Gascoyne River from the coast to Rocky Pool.

The Lower Gascoyne plan area is divided into groundwater subareas for licensing and allocating water – Subarea A, Subarea B–L, and the Surficial aquifer which is called Yandoo.

Lower Gascoyne plan area

Lower Gascoyne water allocation plan area and management subareas

Water resources

Groundwater from the Lower Gascoyne alluvial aquifer is the main water source in this area. The Lower Gascoyne alluvial aquifer is made up of the Riverbed Sands and Older Alluvial formations. We manage them together as a single resource when allocating water.

Groundwater salinity is the critical issue for groundwater management in the plan area. Licensees and the Carnarvon community are actively involved in managing the take of water in the Lower Gascoyne to minimise the impacts of salinity on the resource.

Surface water in the Lower Gascoyne plan area is only available during, or immediately after, the Gascoyne River flows. When the river is flowing licensees can apply to access this unrestricted water to maximise the use of water when it is abundant.

Page last updated - 17 Nov 2015
Related publications

Lower Gascoyne water allocation plan

Lower Gascoyne water allocation plan: Statement of response

Lower Gascoyne allocation methods report

Lower Gascoyne water allocation methods report : background information and description of methods used in preparing the Lower Gascoyne water allocation plan

The assessment of groundwater resources of the Gascoyne Aquifer System using GASFAMS v1.1 (Vol. 1)

The assessment of groundwater resources of the Gascoyne Aquifer System using GASFAMS v1.1 (Vol. 2)

The development of the Gascoyne River Floodplain Aquifers Modelling System GASFAMS v1 [for the Department of Water]

Peer review of the Gascoyne River Floodplain Aquifers Modelling System [GASFAMS] [for the Department of Water]

Groundwater recharge from the Gascoyne River, Western Australia

Lower Gascoyne groundwater and surface water allocation plan: draft for public comment

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The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation was established by the Government of Western Australia on 1 July 2017. It is a result of the amalgamation of the Department of Environment Regulation, Department of Water and the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority. This website/publication may contain references to previous government departments and programs. Please contact the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to clarify any specific information.

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