The table below shows the breakdown of estimated diversions for riparian water authorisations (RWAs) in each water resource plan (WRP) area within the South East Queensland (SEQ) region.
Water Resource Plan (WRP) area |
No. of Riparian Water Authorisations (RWAs) |
Estimated diversion (ML) |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Coast | 381 | 762 |
| Logan Basin | 409 | 818 |
| Moreton | 1,024 | 2,048 |
| Total SEQ region | 3,628 | |
A riparian right in Queensland is the riparian landholder’s access to stock and domestic water via RWAs. The basic right (also known as 'riparian right'), as stipulated in the Queensland Water Act 2000, is the right of an owner of land adjoining a watercourse, lake or spring to take from that water source for stock or domestic purposes. This riparian stock and domestic access is separate from an entitlement.
A riparian water acknowledgement must be submitted to the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) to access this right to take water. DERM then provides an RWA to the applicant. RWAs are not metered in the SEQ region.
DERM, Water Entitlement Register Database and Water Management System database.
DERM.
An estimate has been made of the RWAs within the SEQ region. The total number of properties with RWAs was multiplied by an assumed diversion rate of 2 ML per property to obtain an estimate of the volume abstracted.
Derived from estimated data. Ungraded.
The assumed diversion rate of 2 ML per property may not be appropriate for all users and adds uncertainty to the estimated value.