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
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.
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.
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.
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:
- releases from storages
- putting restrictions on the volume of water that can be abstracted from a catchment (National Water Commission 2010a).
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.
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.
Environmental flow component |
Description |
Example flow requirement |
Base flow |
Quantity of water that flows down a waterway during periods between rainfall events |
|
Flooding flows |
Increases in streamflow following storm events that are important for maintenance of aquatic ecosystems and channel structure. These include:
|
|
Special purpose flows |
Volumes of water designed to meet specific ecosystem requirements, for example, the inundation of a wetland |
|
Maintenance of impoundment levels |
Maintenance of water levels in lakes, ponds and reservoirs to protect the ecosystem of the waterbody |
|
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.
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 |
|