Canberra
Administration

Surface water and groundwater

Water legislation

ACT
The Water Resources Act 2007 (ACT) provides for the management of surface water and groundwater resources within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) state boundaries through the issuing of Water Access Entitlements (WAEs) and water licences.

The Territory Plan 2008 (ACT) provides the policy framework for the administration of planning in the ACT. It also details the management policies for each environmental value for each catchment and serves as an umbrella document for the 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines.

Lake Burley Griffin is a Commonwealth Government responsibility and is administered under the Commonwealth Lakes Act 1976.

NSW
The Water Act 1912 (NSW) governs the management of surface water and groundwater resources within New South Wales.

Water management plans

ACT
The Canberra region is divided into 14 separate water management areas (WMA) are managed by the ACT Government's Environmental and Sustainable Development Directorate (ESDD). Within these 14 WMA are 32 sub catchment areas. Each of these WMA is consistent with the planning framework of the Territory Plan 2008. The first Territory Plan came into effect in October 1993. Some of these WMA fall outside the ACT state boundaries. However, the ACT Government has an interest in these areas as they supply water to, or flow through, the ACT. The ACT Government manages the sections of these WMA that fall within ACT boundaries. The NSW Government manages the sections that fall outside the ACT boundaries. The WMA boundaries are shown in Figure A1.


Figure A1. Map of water management areas in the Canberra region
Figure A1. Map of water management areas in the Canberra region

WMA cover both surface water and groundwater resources. Within each WMA, maximum surface water plus groundwater abstraction was set. The management of WMA is dictated by the primary environmental value of the sub catchment. Sub catchments within ACT boundaries are assigned one of three potential primary environmental values:

  • conservation
  • water supply
  • drainage and open space.

The management policies for each type of catchment are detailed in section 11.8 of the Territory Plan 2008 (ACT).

The WMA in the Canberra region, their associated maximum surface water and groundwater abstraction threshold, and their primary environmental value are shown in Table A1.

 

Table A1. Water management areas in the Canberra region during 2010–11

Water management area

Maximum surface water plus groundwater available for abstraction (ML)2

Maximum groundwater available for abstraction (ML)1

Sub-catchment areas1

Primary environmental Value

Upper Murrumbidgee3

 

25,174

640

Michelago3

Conservation

Tharwa

Conservation

Kambah

Conservation

Guises

Conservation

Tennent

Conservation

Lower Murrumbidgee

29,925

189

Uriarra

Conservation

Woodstock

Conservation

Naas

2,641

855

Naas

Conservation

Gudgenby

3,558

1,170

Gudgenby

Conservation

Cotter

111,408

2,050

Corin

Water supply

Bendora

Water supply

Lower Cotter

Water supply

Paddys

2,905

909

Paddys

Drainage

Tuggeranong

1,461

190

Tuggeranong

Drainage

Upper Molonglo

102

24

Upper Molonglo

Conservation

Central Molonglo

7,832

685

Kowen

Conservation

Fyshwick

Conservation

Jerrabomberra

Drainage and open space

Lake Burley Griffith

Conservation

Woolshed

Drainage and open space

Sullivans

Drainage and open space

Lower Molonglo

3,304

297

Coppins

Conservation

Wooden

Drainage and open space

Weston

Drainage and open space

Lower Queanbeyan

7

0

Lower Queanbeyan

Conservation

Jerrabomberra headwaters

0

0

Jerrabomberra headwaters

NA

Googong catchment

98,914

0

Tinderry

NA

Googong

NA

Burra

NA

Ginninderra

5,352

239

Gungahlin

Drainage and open space

Lake Ginninderra

Drainage and open space

 

Parkwood

Drainage and open space

Total

269,926

7,248

 

 


Table Notes:  NA – not applicable, since not covered by ACT Government water management plans.

1 NWC 2010b
2 ACT Government 2007a
3 Only part of this area or sub catchment is contained within the Canberra region
4 This maximum abstraction includes an allowance for those parts of the WMA that lie outside the Canberra region.

NSW

The NSW Government has yet to finalise its water sharing plans for the Canberra region. The NSW Government intends to encompass all of NSW by a water sharing plan and this process is currently underway.

The Groundwater Management Areas (GMA) in the NSW part of the Canberra region are currently subject to embargos that do not allow for new groundwater licences to be issued unless exemption criteria are met. The two embargos are listed in Table A2.

Table A2. Groundwater embargos impacting the Canberra region

Groundwater management area

Embargo

Mid and Upper Murrumbidgee Fractured Rock GMA, Yass Catchment

 

New South Wales Inland Groundwater Shortage Zones Order No. 1 2008

 

Lachlan Fold Belt GMA

New South Wales Inland Groundwater Shortage Zones Order No. 2 2008


 

Environmental water management

Environmental water legislation

Environmental water within the Canberra region is managed by the ACT Government, Environmental and Sustainable Development Directorate (ESDD). The Water Resources Act 2007 (ACT) provides for the identification and management of water for ecosystems which are identified in the 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines.

Environmental water in the Canberra region is delivered in two ways, by:

The 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines provide guidance on ecological objectives, environmental flow components and environmental flow requirements for the region.

Environmental water provisions

Environmental water provisions are the responsibility of the relevant ACT Minister and are administered and managed through the ACT Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). 

The 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines is the primary document which outlines environmental water provisions in the ACT. The purpose of the guidelines are to identify the components of flow from the variable flow regime that are necessary to maintain stream health (National Water Commission 2010a).

The 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines categorise each of the 14 WMAs, and 32 sub catchments outlined in the Territory Plan 2008 as one of four possible aquatic ecosystem types and assigns each an environmental management goal. The ecosystem categories and their environmental management goals are described in Table A3 below.

Table A3. Ecosystems categories and ecological objectives in the ACT

Category of aquatic ecosystem

Description

Management goal

Water bodies in this category

Natural ecosystems(conservation catchments)

Ecosystems that persisted in a relatively pristine condition

Primary goal: maintain aquatic ecosystems in their pristine stateSecondary goals: range of functions including recreation

Water bodies in Namadgi National Park, excepting the Cotter River catchmentWater bodies in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Water supply ecosystems (water supply catchments)

Ecosystems in catchments designated to provide the ACT water supply

Primary goal: provide water supplySecondary goals: range of functions including conservation and recreation

Water bodies in the Cotter River catchment Googong foreshore area and Queanbeyan River downstream of Googong Reservoir

Modified ecosystems(conservation catchments)

Ecosystems modified by catchment activities (land use change, discharges) or by changes to the flow regime

Range of functions including recreation, conservation and irrigation

All water bodies not included in the other three categories, includes Murrumbidgee and Molonglo Rivers and Lake Burley Griffin

Created ecosystems(drainage and open space catchments)

Ecosystems in urban lakes, ponds and streams that developed as a result of urbanisation

Range of functions including recreation, conservation and irrigation

Water bodies within the urban area excluding the Molonglo River

 Source: 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines , ACT Government 2006b.

The 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines also identify four components of environmental flow to be maintained within these ecosystem types. These are provided below in Table A4.

 

Table A4. Environmental flow components for the Canberra region

Environmental flow component

Description

Example flow requirement

Base flow

Quantity of water that flows down a waterway during periods between rainfall events

  • Specified flow volume or percentile flow (e.g. 80th percentile monthly flow)
  • Groundwater extraction limited to a percentage of the long-term recharge

Flooding flows

Increases in streamflow following storm events that are important for maintenance of aquatic ecosystems and channel structure. These include:

  • riffle maintenance flows
  • pool maintenance flows
  • channel maintenance flows
  • Specified volume and duration  
  • Protection of nominated percentage of volume in events greater than a nominated percentile flow (e.g. 90% of volume in events above 80th percentile flow)
  •        

Special purpose flows

Volumes of water designed to meet specific ecosystem requirements, for example, the inundation of a wetland

  • Nominated flow volume during a nominated timeframe (e.g. 50th percentile monthly flow during Spring months)

Maintenance of impoundment levels

Maintenance of water levels in lakes, ponds and reservoirs to protect the ecosystem of the waterbody

  • Limited drawdown range for waterbodies.

Source: 2006 Environmental Flow Guidelines , ACT Government 2006b.

Organisations responsible for water management

The organisations that are responsible for water management within the Canberra region are detailed in Table A5.

 

Table A5. Organisations responsible for water management in the Canberra region during 2010-11

Organisation

Role

Major storage managed by organisation

ACT Government, Environmental and Sustainable Development Directorate (ESDD) (formerly Department of Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water)

Water resource management in ACT. Approve trades of water within and external to ACT Grant water entitlements. Manage and monitor environmental flows.

 

ACTEW Corporation

(ACTEW)

Urban water supply. Manage and maintain water supply infrastructure

Corin Reservoir

Cotter Reservoir

Bendora Reservoir

Googong Reservoir

ActewAGL

Water distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, and wastewater recycling infrastructure operator on behalf of ACTEW

 

NSW Office of Environment and Heritage

Environmental management Water quality, water pollution and treatment Wetland conservation and management Securing water for the environment

 

NSW Office of Water


Setting policy, necessary legal instruments and overseeing mechanisms to manage water in the region

 

ACT Government, Department of Territory and Municipal Services

Planning and management of ACT's parks, reserves, forestry plantations and public domains (ACT Government 2006a)

Lake Ginninderra Lake Tuggeranong

National Capital Authority

Manage Lake Burley Griffin

Lake Burley Griffin

Queanbeyan City Council

Urban water distribution in Queanbeyan region

 

Palerang Council

Urban water distribution in Captains Flat