Copyright © Government of South Australia, through the Department for Environment and Water 2019. 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 9 2 Overview of the South Australian River Murray Water Resource Plan Area 13 2.1 Description of the area 13 2.2 Surface water 17 2.3 Groundwater 19 3 South Australian Water Management Framework 23 4 Index Table 25 5 Addressing Chapter 10 Requirements 53 5.1 Part 1 – Preliminary 53 5.2 Part 2 – Identification of water resource plan area and other matters 53 5.3 Part 3 – Incorporation and application of long-term annual diversion limit 71 5.4 Part 4 – The sustainable use and management of water resources 92 5.5 Part 5 – Interception activities 99 5.6 Part 6 – Planning for environmental watering 100 5.7 Part 7 – Water quality objectives 111 5.8 Part 8 – Trade of water access rights 119 5.9 Part 9 – Approaches to addressing risks to water resources 120 5.10 Part 10 – Measuring and monitoring 132 5.11 Part 11 – Reviews of water resource plans 138 5.12 Part 12 – Information used to prepare water resource plan 139 5.13 Part 13 – Extreme events 142 5.14 Part 14 – Indigenous values and uses 147 6 Bibliography 163 7 Attachment 1: Consultation 168 3 List of Tables Table 1 Summary of SDL resource units in each of the South Australian WRP areas 14 Table 2 Index table for the South Australian River Murray WRP 25 Table 3 Surface water SDL resource units in the South Australian River Murray as identified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 2 of the Basin Plan (pursuant to section 6.02 of the Basin Plan) 53 Table 4 Instruments or texts that constitute the South Australian River Murray WRP 55 Table 5 Connectivity of the South Australian Murray (SS11) SDL resource unit with other resources 60 Table 6 Responsible person for each matter that Chapter 10 requires to be dealt with in a WRP (10.06) 66 Table 7 Water access rights for each form of take 73 Table 8 Annual permitted take and matters relating to accounting of water – SA Murray SDL Resource Unit (SS11) 79 Table 9 Rules for take of water by SDL resource unit 84 Table 10 Determination of actual take of water by SDL resource unit 90 Table 11 Demonstration of improved protection for PEW under State water management law 108 Table 12 Water quality target locations 117 Table 13 Where the WRP has had regard to risks 121 Table 14 Risk assessed as having either a medium or high level of risk 126 Table 15 How the South Australian River Murray WRP has been prepared having regard to the strategies listed in the Basin Plan section 4.03(3) 128 Table 16 Long-term annual average take and method used to calculate for each class of water access right 133 Table 17 Relationship between monitoring of water resources and reporting under section 13.14 of the Basin Plan 134 Table 18 Significant methods, models and tools used to develop the SA River Murray WRP 141 Table 19 Summary of agreements between River Nations and the South Australian government, and their preferred engagement forums 157 Table 20 Summary of meetings with Murrundi Nations for the preparation of the River Murray WRP 159 4 List of Figures Figure 1 Outline of the broad concept of water resource plans in South Australia 9 Figure 2 Surface water resource plan areas under the Basin Plan 10 Figure 3 South Australian water resource plans required under the Basin Plan 11 Figure 4 South Australian surface water SDL resource units 15 Figure 5 South Australian groundwater SDL resource units 16 Figure 6 Simplified geology of the Murray Basin 21 Figure 7 Managing environmental water in the South Australian River Murray 102 Figure 8 Process for coordinating environmental watering in the River Murray system (Source MDBA) 105 Figure 9 Indicative flow chart for managing extreme dry periods or water quality events 146 5 Abbreviations and Acronyms Term used throughout Actual Title document Australian Height Datum AHD Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council ANZECC baseline diversion limit BDL Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder CEWH Commonwealth Environmental Water Office CEWO Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth CLLMM critical human water needs CHWN Department for Environment and Water DEW Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources DEWNR Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges EMLR environmental watering requirement EWR groundwater-dependent ecosystems GDE held environmental water HEW Long-Term Environmental Watering Plan for the South Australian River Murray River Murray LTWP Mannum Aboriginal Community Association Incorporated MACAI Murray-Darling Basin Agreement the Agreement Murray–Darling Basin Authority MDBA natural resources management NRM Natural Resources Management Act 2004 (SA) NRM Act Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority NRA planned environmental water PEW priority environmental asset PEA priority ecosystem function PEF River Murray Mallee Aboriginal Corporation RMMAC River Murray Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, Mannum Aboriginal Community Association River Nations Incorporated and Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority South Australia SA South Australia Murray–Darling Basin SAMDB South Australia Murray–Darling Basin Natural Resources Management SAMDB NRM South Australia Murray–Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board SAMDB NRMB South Australian Minister responsible for administration of the Natural Resources the Minister Management Act 2004 South Australian River Murray Water Resource Plan Area Risk Assessment the risk assessment report sustainable diversion limit SDL Water Act 2007 (Cwlth) Water Act water allocation plan WAP Water Allocation Plan for River Murray Prescribed Watercourse River Murray WAP water quality management plan WQM Plan water resource plan WRP Western Mount Lofty Ranges WMLR 6 Acknowledgements 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 Government of South Australia 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 Natural Resources Management Board; Aboriginal Nations; the Crown Solicitor’s Office; and Murray–Darling Basin Authority staff. The risk assessment component was informed by experts from a range of government agencies. Many thanks to all who have invested significant time and energy to ensure that the South Australian River Murray Water Resource Plan is a robust and defensible document. 7 8 Introduction 1 Introduction The Commonwealth’s Water Act 2007 (Water Act) requires a water resource plan (WRP) be prepared for each water resource plan area (WRP area) identified under Chapter 3, Part 2 of the Basin Plan (Figure 2). WRPs must provide for the management of the water resources of the WRP area and be consistent with the requirements of the Basin Plan. The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) is preparing three WRPs for the South Australian Murray– Darling Basin (SAMDB) to meet requirements under the Basin Plan (Figure 3), being: South Australian River Murray WRP (includes