Alice Springs Water Allocation Plan - 5 year review

Did you know?

All of Alice Spring’s water comes from groundwater. The aquifers in the Amadeus Basin to the south of town are the main supplies for drinking, farming and industry use. The plan expects these to sustain Alice Spring’s drinking water needs until 2224. After then, the options for supplies include groundwater from further afield in the Amadeus Basin or desalination of brackish groundwater.

Groundwater also occurs in aquifers associated with the Todd River and Roe Creek. These are locally important for irrigation and stock and domestic use. Where the water table is shallow, it sustains stands of large river red gums and other large trees, many of which are sacred to Arrernte people.

The Alice Springs Water Allocation Plan 2016-2026 describes the water management arrangements for Alice Springs.

The purpose of a water allocation plan is to ensure:

• water is allocated within the estimated sustainable yield to beneficial uses;
• water is allocated to the environment;

·the total water use for all beneficial uses is less than the sum of the allocations to each beneficial use; and

·the right to take water under licence is able to be traded

The Water Act 1992 requires a plan is reviewed within five years of a being written. The review is being prepared by the department with input from the community and stakeholders and advice from the Alice Springs Plan Review Water Advisory Committee.

The review will establish whether the plan is doing what it set out to do, meeting its functions under the Water Act and responding to changes such as new science and changes in policy, regulation, climate projections and socio-economic planning since the plan was declared.

This consultation will close Friday 11 December 2020.

Please provide your feedback via the survey link below or submissions can also be sent to waterresources@nt.gov.au