2 Overview of the South Australian Murray Region Water Resource
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SouthSouth AustralianAustralian MurrayMurray RegionRegion WaterWater ResourceResource PlanPlan Provided for accreditation pursuant to section 63 Provided for accreditation pursuant to section 63 ofof the the Commo Commonwealth’snwealth’s Water Water Act Act 2007 2007 Copyright © Government of South Australia, through the Department for Environment and Water 2018. This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth), no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission obtained from the Department for Environment and Water. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be directed to the Chief Executive, Department for Environment and Water, GPO Box 1047, Adelaide SA 5001. Disclaimer While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Department for Environment and Water makes no representations and accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of or reliance on the contents of this publication. Reference to any company, product or service in this publication should not be taken as a Department endorsement of the company, product or service. 2 Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms 6 Acknowledgements 7 1 Introduction 8 2 Overview of the South Australian Murray Region Water Resource Plan Area 9 2.1 Description of the area 9 2.2 Surface water 14 2.3 Groundwater 15 3 South Australian Water Management Framework 20 3.1 Managing Water Resources in the SA Murray Region 20 4 Index Table 23 5 Addressing Chapter 10 Requirements 47 5.1 Part 1 – Preliminary 47 5.2 Part 2 – Identification of water resource plan area and other matters 47 5.3 Part 3 – Incorporation and application of long-term annual diversion limit 67 5.4 Part 4 – The sustainable use and management of water resources 93 5.5 Part 5 – Interception activities 103 5.6 Part 6 – Planning for environmental watering 105 5.7 Part 7 – Water quality objectives 108 5.8 Part 8 – Trade of water access rights 115 5.9 Part 9 – Approaches to addressing risks to water resources 123 5.10 Part 10 – Measuring and monitoring 133 5.11 Part 11 – Reviews of water resource plans 139 5.12 Part 12 – Information used to prepare water resource plan 140 5.13 Part 13 – Extreme events 142 5.14 Part 14 – Indigenous values and uses 146 6 Bibliography 164 7 Attachments 169 3 List of Tables Table 1 Main abbreviations and acronyms used in this report 6 Table 2 Summary of SDL resource units within each of the South Australian WRP areas 10 Table 3 Index table 23 Table 4 Surface water SDL resource units in SA Murray Region as identified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 2 of the Basin Plan (pursuant to section 6.02 of the Basin Plan) 47 Table 5 Groundwater SDL resource units in SA Murray Region as identified in Schedule 4 of the Basin Plan (pursuant to section 6.03 of the Basin Plan) 48 Table 6 Instruments or texts that constitute the SA Murray Region WRP 49 Table 7 Connectivity of the South Australian Non-Prescribed Areas (SS10) SDL resource unit with other resources 55 Table 8 Connectivity of the Mallee (GS3) SDL resource unit with other resources 56 Table 9 Connectivity of the Peake, Roby and Sherlock (GS5) SDL resource unit with other resources 57 Table 10 Connectivity of the SA Murray (GS6) SDL resource unit with other resources 58 Table 11 Connectivity of the SA Murray Salt Interception Schemes (GS7) SDL resource unit with other resources 59 Table 12 Responsible person for each matter that Chapter 10 requires to be dealt with in a WRP (10.06) 63 Table 13 Water access rights for each form of take 69 Table 14 Annual permitted take and matters relating to accounting of water 74 Table 15 Rules for take of water by SDL resource unit 82 Table 16 Determination of annual actual take of water by SDL resource unit 89 Table 17 Explanation of how requirements of section 12.24 of the Basin Plan are met for the Mallee SDL resource unit (GS3) – Murray Group Limestone 117 Table 18 Explanation of how requirements of section 12.24 of the Basin Plan are met for the Peake, Roby and Sherlock SDL resource unit (GS5) – confined and unconfined aquifer 118 Table 19 Explanation of how requirements of section 12.25 of the Basin Plan are met for the Peake, Roby and Sherlock SDL resource unit (GS5) – confined and unconfined aquifer 120 Table 20 Where the WRP has had regard to risks 124 Table 21 Risk assessed as having either a medium or high level of risk 128 Table 22 How the SA Murray Region WRP has been prepared having regard to the strategies listed in the Basin Plan section 4.03(3) 129 Table 23 Long-term annual average take and method used to calculate for each class of water access right 133 Table 24 Relationship between monitoring of water resources and reporting under section 13.14 of the Basin Plan 136 Table 25 Summary of agreements between Aboriginal Nations and the SA Government, and their preferred engagement forums. 157 Table 26 Summary of meetings with Aboriginal Nations for the preparation of the SA Murray Region WRP. 160 4 List of Figures Figure 1 Outline of the broad concept of a WRP in South Australia 8 Figure 2 South Australian WRP areas with NRM region boundaries 11 Figure 3 South Australian Non-Prescribed Areas surface water SDL resource unit 12 Figure 4 South Australian groundwater SDL resource units 13 Figure 5 Simplified geology of the Murray Basin 16 Figure 6 Prescribed groundwater and groundwater management sub-area 21 Figure 7 Border Groundwaters Agreement boundaries 22 Figure 8 Indicative flow chart for managing extreme dry periods or water quality events 145 5 Abbreviations and Acronyms Table 1 Main abbreviations and acronyms used in this report Term used throughout Actual Title document A comparative analysis of GIS dams data in the Murray Region Water Resource Plan Area GIS analysis report (SDL resource unit SS10) Amended South East Natural Resources Management Plan - Part Four: NRM Policy, 2010 SE NRM Plan – Part Four (as amended 2017) Australian and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council ANZECC Baseline Diversion Limit BDL Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth CLLMM Department for Environment and Water DEW Environmental Water Requirements EWR Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems GDE Held Environmental Water HEW Long-term Environmental Watering Plan for the South Australian Murray Region Water SA Murray Region LTWP Resource Plan Area Long-term Environmental Watering Plan for the South Australian River Murray River Murray LTWP Murray-Darling Basin Authority MDBA Natural Resources Management NRM Natural Resources Management Act 2004 (SA) NRM Act Noora Groundwater Management Area Noora GMA Peake-Roby-Sherlock SDL resource unit (GS5) Peake, Roby and Sherlock Planned Environmental Water PEW Prescribed Wells Area PWA Priority Environmental Asset PEA Priority Ecosystem Function PEF South Australia SA South Australia Arid Lands Natural Resources Management SAAL NRM South Australia Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management SA MDB NRM South Australian Arid Lands Regional NRM Plan (Volume 2), Board Business and SAAL NRM Plan (Volume 2) – Operational Plan 2017/18-2019/20, Appendix 1: Water Affecting Activities Policy Appendix 1 South Australian Minister responsible for administration of the Natural Resources the Minister Management Act 2004 South Australian Murray Region Water Resource Plan Area Risk Assessment the risk assessment report South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Plan: Volume B - SAMDB NRM plan – Volume B Board Business and Operational Plan 2016/17-2018/19 version 4.0 South East NRM SE NRM Sustainable Diversion Limit SDL Water Act 2007 (Cwlth) Water Act Water allocation plan WAP Water Allocation Plan for the Mallee Prescribed Wells Area, 2017 Mallee WAP Water Allocation Plan for the Peake, Roby and Sherlock Prescribed Wells Area, 2017 Peake, Roby and Sherlock WAP Water Quality Management Plan WQM Plan Water Resource Plan WRP 6 Acknowledgements Acknowledgement of First Nations The First Nations of South Australia, the Aboriginal Traditional Owners, have occupied, enjoyed and managed their customary lands and waters since time immemorial and continue their deep cultural, social, environmental, spiritual and economic connection today. The South Australian Government acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners and their Nations. The South Australian Government also acknowledges and respects the rights, interests and obligations of Traditional Owners to speak and care for their Country – lands and waters – in accordance with their laws, customs, beliefs and traditions. In acknowledging this history and connection we also recognise the deep and irreversible damage and dislocation that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have experienced and continue to experience, through European colonisation, settlement and displacement. Aboriginal Nations have advocated strongly for a healthier Murray-Darling Basin and just settlement of their land and water rights. This commitment led to a stronger Basin Plan for South Australians and asks us as a State Government to better recognise Traditional Owner interests in our water resource management. The Department for Environment and Water seeks to enable partnerships with Aboriginal Nations built upon mutual respect and trust. We recognise the differences between Nations and their preferred approaches for engagement with Government and will work through these arrangements to support Traditional Owners to meet their customary rights and obligations in natural resource planning and implementation. Acknowledgement of contributors The development of this Water Resource Plan has been a collaborative effort across many areas within the Department for Environment and Water; the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East and South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Boards; Aboriginal Nations; the Crown Solicitor’s Office; and Murray-Darling Basin Authority staff.