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Tatiara Water Allocation Plan review and amendment

Review and amendment of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan

A review of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan started in February 2017. A Stakeholder Advisory Group was formed in April 2017 to support the process. Review of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan concluded that amendment was required. Amendment is now underway.

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board develops and maintains water allocation plans as outlined in the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. The plans are developed with environmental, social, cultural and economic needs in mind and seek to ensure long term sustainability and security of the resource.

Stakeholder Advisory Group for the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan

The Stakeholder Advisory Group is the primary reference group supporting the review and amendment of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan.

The Stakeholder Advisory Group represents the following organisations:

  • Conservation Council SA
  • Mundulla Vignerons Association
  • Tatiara District Council
  • Livestock SA
  • Lucerne Australia
  • SA Water
  • Natural Resource Management Group

Read the charter for the Stakeholder Advisory Group [PDF, 522 KB]

Meetings for review and amendment of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan

The Stakeholder Advisory Group has met to consider new information about water policy and science. They have discussed options for better management and define an approach to address issues to create a revised Tatiara Water Allocation Plan.

A copy of notes from each meeting is available by selecting the meeting date below.

2020 meetings

Minutes from Stakeholder Advisory Group meetings held in 2020.

2019 meetings

Minutes from Stakeholder Advisory Group meetings held in 2019.

2018 meetings

Minutes from Stakeholder Advisory Group meetings held in 2018.

2017 meetings

Minutes from Stakeholder Advisory Group meetings held in 2017.

Review of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan

The Stakeholder Advisory Group identified 26 issues for consideration in the review of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan. The 26 issues fall under six main themes:

  • overarching issues
  • landscape issues
  • consumptive pools
  • resource condition limits and monitoring
  • entitlements and allocations
  • site extraction and use.

Amendment of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan

Revision of the Tatiara Water Allocation Plan is focused on the themes identified in the review. Initial consultation on key concepts to address those themes occurred in 2021. This involved community meetings and one-on-one session for licensees to discuss particular issues in detail.

Below are the key concepts that were consulted on. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board and Stakeholder Advisory Group are now considering feedback from this consultation in the creation of a draft revised Tatiara Water Allocation Plan.

Water licence instruments

It is proposed that the revised Tatiara Water Allocation Plan will introduce a new water license system. This system will follow state and national policy that promotes the separation of water rights.

Instead of one water licence, the new licensing system would introduce separate water licencing instruments. This would align with the requirements of the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. The separate instruments distinguish between an ongoing right to access water, called an entitlement, and the actual volume of water allocated each year. They allow water licence holders to access and extract a volume of water and will provide greater flexibility for trading.

Classes of water access entitlements

A water access entitlement will have a class which sets the permitted purpose of use of water.

There are four classes proposed. In relation to the current water allocation plan:

  • Class T is equivalent to the tradable component.
  • Class Ta is equivalent to the water holding licences.
  • Class D is equivalent to the delivery supplement component for flood irrigation licences.
  • Class S is equivalent to the special production requirements component.
  • A water licence is not required for stock or domestic purposes.

Consumptive pools

A consumptive pool is a defined amount of water that can be made available for consumptive uses within a prescribed water resource area.

There are two consumptive pools proposed. They extend across the entire Tatiara Prescribed Wells Area:

  • The Tatiara Confined Consumptive Pool. Includes the groundwater in the confined (deeper) aquifers.
  • The Tatiara Unconfined Consumptive Pool. Includes the groundwater in the unconfined (shallower) aquifers.

Within each of the consumptive pools, management zones have been proposed to allow rules or limits to be set up for particular areas. This allows for more targeted management of the consumptive pools. The rules or limits in the plan can be applied either across the prescribed wells area or just within a management zone.

The eight management zones proposed for the Tatiara Unconfined Consumptive Pool:

  • Shaugh Unconfined Management Zone
  • Zone 8A Unconfined Management Zone
  • Tatiara Unconfined Management Zone
  • North Pendleton-Cannawigara Unconfined Management Zone
  • Wirrega South Unconfined Management Zone
  • Wirrega Unconfined Management Zone
  • Stirling-Willalooka Unconfined Management Zone
  • Poocher Unconfined Management Zone

Trades and transfers

A transfer is a temporary or permanent trade of water rights that allows licensees to manage changes in their water needs or in response to water availability. The revised Tatiara Water Allocation Plan proposes to allow the transfer of some classes of water access entitlements and water allocations.

Poocher Swamp management zone

It is proposed to introduce a new management zone for Poocher Swamp to allow local and targeted action for sustainable groundwater management and use.

Poocher Swamp is important for three reasons:

  • The fresher groundwater lens with salinity less than 1000mg/L underlying the Swamp provides water for the public water supply for Bordertown.
  • It is a wetland of national importance, supports key groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems and plants and animals of conservation significance.
  • The area has cultural significance for First Nations people.

The freshwater lens under Poocher Swamp is fed by flows from Tatiara Creek which infiltrate through the limestone karst at the bottom of the swamp. Reduced rainfall and flow in Tatiara Creek since the mid-1990s has reduced the extent of the freshwater lens and increased salinity in some monitoring wells near Poocher Swamp.

The taking of water for both public water supply and irrigation in the Poocher Swamp area needs to be carefully managed to avoid localised increases in salinity and lowering of the water table.

The proposal to introduce a management zone for Poocher Swamp to better manage localised supply, demand, risk and impact will help allow its use to remain at sustainable levels well into the future.

Assistance with your water licence or the water allocation plan

The Department for Environment and Water administers water licences for South Australia. mywater is South Australia’s 24/7 online water management system and customer portal. You can access information about your licence and access a range of water services such as applying to transfer water or applying for a permit to put a bore in. For support in using the mywater portal contact the mywater Contact Centre at dew.mywater@sa.gov.au or call 08 7133 7333 during business hours.

If you need any other assistance with your water licence contact the water licensing team at DEW.LCWaterLicensing@sa.gov.au or call 08 8735 1134. The Water Licensing team are located at 152 Jubilee Highway East, Mount Gambier, 5290.