Water extraction licence application tiers

You must apply for a tier 1 if you're extracting less than 500ML per year within:

• the Darwin rural water control district
• a water allocation plan area or
• a local scale aquifer - see licensing areas map PDF (1.4 MB).

What you need to apply

• A description of the project and a map with the:
  • location of existing or proposed bore
  • location of where the water will be used
  • method and route of moving the water and the lands in the immediate area - this includes lot, portion, section, lease numbers and boundaries
• A property or project development plan
• Discussion of water availability at the site
• An outline of the proposed water use for the life of project
  • include a discussion about variation in use between wet and dry season, or the projected change of water use during the development - eg. as trees establish and mature
• A 5km radius hydrocensus (if applicable) - use the hydrocensus template XLSX (9.7 KB)
• A desktop assessment of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDE) or any sensitive sites within a 5km radius

You must apply for a tier 2 if:

• you're extracting more than 500ML per year in:
  • water allocation plan areas or within the Darwin rural water control district
  • a local scale aquifer - see licensing areas map PDF (1.4 MB)
• you're extracting less than 500ML per year in intermediate or regional scale aquifer outside of a plan area
• you're carrying out a simple mining or petroleum exploration operation
• you plan to apply for a surface water extraction licence of less than 500ML.

Before you apply

Check if you're in a:

• water control district
• water allocation plan area or
• local, regional or intermediate scale aquifer - see licensing areas map PDF (1.4 MB).

What you need to apply

With your application, you must provide all information from the tier 1 requirements above.

You must also provide the following information for groundwater or surface water.

Groundwater

• A stakeholder engagement report showing how you have engaged stakeholders in the area - particularly Aboriginal groups and other licensed users of the water source
• A 10km radius hydrocensus (bore stocktake) - use the hydrocensus template XLSX (9.7 KB)
• Bore reports from relevant bores - eg. pump tests and gamma log results
• Identification of the specific yield and transmissivity of the water resource
• Analysis that identifies the radius and depth of the cone of depression - including equations and assumptions
• Ground truthed assessments of GDEs or any sensitive receptors in 5 to 10km radius - include a monitoring or adaptive management plan where relevant.

Surface water

• A stakeholder engagement report showing how you have engaged stakeholders in the area - particularly Aboriginal groups and other licensed users of the water source
• A description of waterway characteristics including:
  • catchment size
  • historical rainfall
  • sites of regional significance
  • billabongs
  • drought refuge sites and
  • pools downstream of extraction site
• Historical analysis of closest gauging station information or other relevant data
  • you can get this from the NT water data portal - which includes monthly flow rates and a waterway’s likely response to proposed extraction such as cease to flow and percentage reduction of monthly flows
• Discussion of potential impacts and mitigation measures

You must apply for a tier 3 if:

• you're extracting more than 500ML per year:
  • of surface water or
  • from intermediate or regional scale water sources outside a plan area
• you plan to carry out significant mining or petroleum activities
• your activities need an environment impact statement (EIS) or equivalent.

Before you apply

Check if you're in a:

• water control district
• water allocation plan area or
• local, regional or intermediate scale aquifer - see licensing areas map PDF (1.4 MB).

What you need to apply

To apply for a tier 3 groundwater or surface water extraction licence, you must provide all information from the tier 1 and 2 requirements above. You must also supply:

• a modelling report for surface or groundwater
  • including the model set up, outputs, interpretation
  • evidence of quality assurance or control
    • prepared or refined based on the current or proposed stage of activities to which the water extraction licence relates
    • verified or refined using representative field data
    • documentation of methods used to calibrate the model
• a monitoring plan that
  • follows the:
    • national industry guidelines for hydrometric monitoring on the Bureau of Meteorology website or
    • guideline for field sampling for surface water quality monitoring programs on the Western Australia Government website
  • identifies the monitoring method, equipment and parameters
  • identifies sampling or measurement location, frequency and timing
  • identifies site specific trigger values for change to hydrometric parameters
  • details data storage and reporting provisions
  • evidence of quality assurance or control
    • identify qualifications of people carrying out the monitoring and sampling
• an adaptive management plan that
  • identifies clear management objectives and performance indicators for key receptors
  • identifies a trigger-action-response plan (or similar) for each threshold, including management responsibility for implementation
  • links with the monitoring plan and includes commitments to update or report as appropriate, considering the context of the water extraction or use
• if requested by the department, an independent peer review of the report and plans showing they are suitable for their intended use.