1.3.3.1 Description


The total number of economic water-dependent assets in the preliminary assessment extent (PAE) of the Galilee subregion is 129 (comprising 5012 elements). This includes 149 surface water access entitlements grouped into 33 assets according to type and management zones or areas, and 4863 groundwater access entitlements grouped into 96 assets according to type and management zone or area. All assets are water dependent.

A water access right is defined as a perpetual or ongoing entitlement to exclusive access to a share of water from a specified consumptive pool as defined in the relevant water plan (Queensland Water Act 2000; Council of Australian Governments, 2004). Water access rights are tradeable with land in a bundled system, or may be tradeable without land in an unbundled system. The consumptive pool may be a body of groundwater or an interconnected set of surface water bodies. For a groundwater pool, access is by bores for domestic, stock, irrigation and/or other commercial uses, or for town water supplies. For surface waters, access is direct pumping from a river or lake. Pool size and access right allocation of consumptive rights are subject to planning and management within zones, as used here to group the individual elements representing single bores and pumping locations into assets.

A basic water right (stock and domestic) is a water right held by a rural landowner for domestic, on-farm purposes (Department of the Environment, 2015). Stock purposes are watering stock of a number that would normally be depastured on the land on which the water is used, including pets. Domestic purposes include use within a house and for irrigating a garden not exceeding 0.25 ha, cultivated for domestic use rather than sale. Stock and domestic does not include use for dairies, piggeries, feed lots, poultry or any other intensive or commercial use. They may apply to domestic and farm bores, or to pumps in rivers and lakes.

Table 12 shows the breakdown of water access entitlements (economic elements) for groundwater and surface water in the Galilee PAE. The locations of the economic assets are shown in Figure 23 (surface water) and Figure 24 (groundwater).

Table 12 Summary of economic assets in the Galilee asset database

All assets are water dependent.


Subgroup

Class

Number of assets

Number of elements

Mean number of elements per asset

Maximum number of elements per asset

Groundwater management zone

Water access right

39

350

9

77

Basic water right (stock and domestic)

57

4513

79.2

509

Surface water management zone

Water access right

25

123

4.9

21

Basic water right (stock and domestic)

8

26

3.3

8

Total

129

5012

na

na

Data: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 1)

na=data not applicable

Figure 23

Figure 23 Location of surface water assets in the preliminary assessment extent (PAE) of the Galilee subregion

Data: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 1)

Figure 24

Figure 24 Location of groundwater assets in the preliminary assessment extent (PAE) of the Galilee subregion

Data: Bioregional Assessment Programme (Dataset 1)

Last updated:
3 January 2019