Upper Collie water allocation plan
Plan release information
The Upper Collie water allocation plan and Statement of response were released in August 2009.
The plan includes allocation limits, which define how much water is available in the upper Collie plan area. It describes how the Department of Water will allocate and manage water resources and will monitor, measure and evaluate the objectives of the plan.
We regularly evaluate whether the plan’s objectives are being met. The first evaluation, which includes updates to policy in the plan, is now available:
As a results of our changing climate the department has reviewed the allocation limit from Wellington Reservoir. The revised allocation limit from the Wellington Reservoir is 68 gigalitres per year to response to lower rainfall and inflow. Further information on the decision to amend the allocation limit is provided in the Wellington Reservoir Allocation Statement and Wellington Reservoir Modelling: Re-evaluating the yield under climate change.
Water allocation planning in the Upper Collie
The plan provides clear and consistent direction to current and future water users and addresses allocation issues. Careful, long-term planning is needed to ensure that the needs of the community and the environment are protected while ensuring secure water supplies.
Plan area
The Upper Collie catchment is about 200 kilometres south of Perth.
The plan area is within the Collie River Irrigation District and covers the Collie groundwater area. It extends from the upper reaches of the Collie River catchment and ends at the Wellington Dam wall.
Water resources
The Collie River runs through the plan area and is fed from its major tributaries – the Harris River, Bingham River, Collie River East Branch and the Collie River South Branch. The Wellington Reservoir on the Collie River is the largest reservoir in the South West. Water in the Wellington Reservoir is of marginal quality and the department is working to restore it to fresh water quality.
The major groundwater system in Collie is the Collie Coal Basin. This is made up of the Premier and Cardiff sub-basins. Coal is mined from the Collie Coal Basin through open-cut mining, which results in the need to dewater, which uses large volumes of groundwater. There is a high demand for surplus mine dewater because third parties, such as the local power industry can use it for cooling purposes.
Upper Collie water allocation plan area