South East Queensland
Water rights
Operating rules and constraints
Surface water operating rules and constraints
The Gold Coast (Queensland Government Department of Natural Resources and Mines 2013), Logan Basin (Queensland Government Department of Natural Resources and Mines 2014b) and Moreton (Queensland Government Department of Natural Resources and Mines 2014c) resource operations plans (ROPs) list the operating rules for each water supply scheme (WSS), including:
- environmental management rules
- infrastructure operating levels
- quality of water released from storages
- change in rate of release from infrastructure
- stream flow requirements
- water sharing rules.
Groundwater operating rules and constraints
Groundwater resources within the South East Queensland (SEQ) region have become more developed during the last decade. The groundwater sources within the Lockyer Valley, Warrill Bremer Alluvial, Watercourse Buffer Zone and Cressbrook Alluvial are now managed as groundwater management areas (GMAs) under the Moreton water resource plan.
In response to the Millenium Drought, a moratorium was introduced in 2007 that banned drilling of new groundwater bores in Toowoomba and parts of Brisbane, in order to protect the Brisbane aquifer project that would supplement water supplies for the SEq region with 20 ML/d from groundwater.
While the region's groundwater sources continue to be developed, GMAs with operating rules are being implemented to maintain efficient use of water and protect long-term water quality.
Urban water system operating rules and constraints
In 2008, new water restriction rules (Bureau 2014) were introduced for use across all councils in the SEQ region. The water restriction levels are high, medium, low and permanent water conservation measures.
The Queensland Water Commission managed the region's water restriction decisions, from when the restriction levels were first implemented until the commission ceased operations on 1 January 2013. The Queensland Water Commission also provided independent advice to the Queensland Government on the SEQ region's water security, demand and supply options.
The commission's policy functions were moved to the Department of Energy and Water Supply, while its planning and regulatory functions (including the setting of water restrictions) became the reponsibility of the new bulk water supply authority, Seqwater and the SEQ Council water businesses (distributor-retailers).
The Queensland Government, Seqwater, and the SEQ Council water businesses will together consider and develop a long-term restriction framework, in consultation with the SEQ community.
Water entitlements and other statutory water rights
The Water Act is the primary statutory legislation governing the sourcing and supply of water in Queensland. Under the Water Act, authorisation to abstract water is generally via either:
- a statutory authorisation: the Water Act allows taking water for certain purposes or uses (e.g. riparian landholder watering of stock or for domestic purposes) without an entitlement
- a water entitlement: there are various types of licences or authorities to abstract water under the Water Act, each with different conditions attached to them.
The Water Act recognises two distinct categories of water access entitlement:
- supplemented access to water within a water supply scheme
- unsupplemented access to water in a river or from groundwater.
Supplemented and unsupplemented water access entitlements are managed and administered separately. For the purpose of the 2014 Account, the term 'supplemented' is equated to 'regulated', and the term 'unsupplemented' is equated to 'unregulated'. These are legislative terms and may not precisely match the definitions used in the 2014 Account for 'regulated' and 'unregulated' (see 'Glossary'). Table 1 shows the terminology used in Queensland for water management and the equivalent term in the National Water Account.
| 2014 Account | Equivalent Queensland terminology |
| water access entitlement | water allocation |
| interim water allocation | |
| water licence | |
| water allocation | announced allocation |
| regulated | supplemented |
| unregulated | unsupplemented |
| entitlement trade | allocation trade |
| allocation trade | seasonal water assignments |
| security | priority |
The annual volume able to be abstracted under a supplemented water entitlement will vary from year to year, and is referred to as an 'announced allocation'. The announced allocation is based on the sharing rules and formulae noted in the ROP for the WSSs and the availability of water within the WSS.
The announced allocation percentage varies between priority groups and between WSSs, and is announced on the first day of the water year by the ROL holders. If an announced allocation percentage is initially below 100%, subsequent announcements may be made to increase the percentage. The percentage cannot be reduced during a water year and once the announced allocation percentage reaches 100%, no further increases to the limit can occur.
Types of water access entitlements
The Water Act recognises three types of water access entitlement (WAE): water allocations, interim water allocations, and water licences.
Water allocations: this type of WAE defines its holder's share of the water resource that is not attached to land and can be traded within the trading rules in the relevant plan. Water allocations do not expire. They may comprise a volumetric maximum rate of abstraction, nominal volume (representing the share of the available resource), volumetric limit (entitlement volume limit), flow conditions and other access conditions. The conversion of interim water allocations into water allocations occurs through the water planning process. Most of these conversions have already taken place in Queensland. When the Queensland term for water allocations is used in the 2014 Account, it will be referred to as 'Water allocations (Water entitlement).
Interim water allocations: this type of WAE defines it's holder's share of the water resource that is attached to land and can not be traded unless specified in the Queensland Water Regulation 2002 (Water Regulation). Interim water allocations do not expire. They may comprise a volumetric limit, flow conditions and other access conditions. The conversion of interim water allocations into water allocations occurs through the water planning process. Most of these conversions have already taken place in Queensland.
Water licences: this type of WAE attaches to land and is for a fixed period of time, usually between five and ten years. Conditions attached to the WAE water licence, may include flow conditions, maximum rates of abstraction, maximum pump sizes, storage conditions, or any other conditions that may be applied. Each licence is assigned to a specific location and is generally not tradable. WAE water licences are progressively converted into water allocations through the water planning process.
Water allocations
In the SEQ region, a limit (expressed as a percentage) is announced against an entitlement at the start of a water year. This is used to determine the maximum volume of water that may be abstracted by a WAE holder in a water year. Additional announcements may be made during the year if additional water becomes available. Urban holders of regulated entitlements have the same announced limit applied to their entitlement as other regulated entitlement holders of the same priority entitlements. In general, a water year is from 1 July–30 June unless otherwise specified in the ROP or IROP (e.g. the Lower Lockyer WSS water year is from 1 April–31 March).
Announced allocations are published on the WSS operator's website.
Trades and water rights transfers
Water market rules: interstate trading
There is no interstate trading between the SEQ region and New South Wales. More information on trading during the 2013–14 year can be found in the Water rights, entitlements, allocations and restrictions section in the 'Water access and use' note.
Water market rules: inter-valley and within-valley trading
Regulated water allocations (water entitlements) in Queensland are separate from land rights, and are tradeable and registered on the Water Allocation Register. This register is managed by the Queensland Government Department of Natural Resources and Mines. Currently, there are markets for surface water rights only, while markets for groundwater rights may be developed in the future.
Following the release of the Gold Coast, Logan, and Moreton ROPs in 2009, the trading of water allocations commenced in the SEQ region. Rules covering trade of regulated water access entitlements can be found in chapters 5–7, part 2, of the Moreton ROP and chapter 5, part 2 of Gold Coast and Logan ROPs.
The rules for water allocation trading (temporary trades, called 'seasonal water assignment' using Queensland terminology) are detailed in the Water Regulation 2002, and the relevant ROP and interim resource operation licence (Queensland Government Department of Natural Resources and Mines 2014e).
Both entitlement trade and allocation trade occurred within the SEQ region during the 2013–14 year. Information on these trades in the SEQ region during the 2013–14 year can be found in Water market activity.
There was no trade between the SEQ region and any other part of Queensland during the 2013–14 year.
Restrictions on trade
No restrictions on trade other than the rules listed in the Gold Coast, Logan, and Moreton ROPs exist. The rules specify geographic limits for trading that ensure water allocation security objectives and environmental flow objectives are achieved.