Alice Springs water allocation plan

Current plan	Alice Springs water allocation plan 2016 - 2026
Map	Alice Springs water allocation planning area map Alice Springs water allocation planning area management zones
Area	4,528km²
Declared	16 February 2016
Duration	10 years
Review	Every 5 years. Read the review report
Expiry	15 February 2026

The plan applies to all surface water and groundwater within the northern 45% of the Alice Springs water control district.

Groundwater within this plan area is mainly used for public water supply in Alice Springs.

Plan objectives

The main objectives of the plan are to:

maintain public water supply
ensure sustainable development
protect the environment
recognise Aboriginal culture and community values.

For more information about objectives, strategies and performance indicators, read the Alice Springs Water Allocation Plan 2016 – 2026.

Beneficial uses

The beneficial uses of water in a water control district are:

environment
Aboriginal economic development.

The Administrator may set other categories and publish a notice in the Gazette.

Beneficial uses are set for the different water management zones described in the Alice Springs water allocation plan.

Read the Gazette published on 29 October 2014 in general notice 43.

Water resources

Surface water catchments and groundwater systems of the district are interconnected.

Flows in:

the Todd River recharge the Alice Springs Town Basin, Inner Farm Basin and Outer Farm Basin
Roe Creek, a tributary of the Todd River, recharge the Wanngardi Basin.

Both catchments provide a small amount of recharge to the Mereenie aquifer.

Surface water

Surface water flows occur at different times and rely on intense rainfall events in the upper catchment of the Todd River. These flows can result in minor flooding.

Stormwater management is important to reduce the risk of local flooding.

Surface water is managed in the upper and lower catchment areas.

Allocations

Surface water is allocated to environmental, cultural and rural stock and domestic beneficial uses.

The total amount that can be taken is 5% of the flow for rural stock and domestic purposes.

All other consumptive use of water is not allowed under the water allocation plan. This allows surface water flows to recharge groundwater and maintain environmental and cultural water requirements.

Licences

The plan doesn’t permit licensed surface water extraction activities within the plan area.

Groundwater

There are 2 types of aquifer covered by the Alice Springs water allocation plan:

shallow alluvial aquifers
deeper aquifers.

Shallow alluvial aquifers are recharged by surface water flows that store limited amounts of water. These flows rely on regular recharge events.

Deeper aquifers in the Amadeus Basin contain ancient water from wetter times and store large volumes of high quality water. However, they have very little modern recharge.

Beneficial water uses in shallow alluvial aquifers are as follows:

Town Basin (Todd River) - environment, cultural, rural stock and domestic, agriculture and industry
Inner Farm (Todd River) - environment, cultural, rural stock and domestic, agriculture and industry
Outer Farm (Todd River) - environment, cultural, rural stock and domestic, agriculture and industry
Wanngardi Basin (Roe Creek) - environment, cultural, rural stock and domestic and industry.

Beneficial water uses in deeper aquifers in the Amadeus Basin are as follows:

Rocky Hill - environment, cultural, public water supply, rural stock and domestic, agriculture and industry
Roe Creek – public water supply, rural stock and domestic, and industry.

Allocations

The water allocation plan identifies 10 groundwater water resources where an estimated sustainable yield has been established. It refers to the amount of water that can be taken while meeting the needs of environmental and cultural values of the water resource.

The table below shows the volume of water available from each of the groundwater management zones in the water allocation plan.

Water management zone	Estimated sustainable yield (megalitres per year)
Inner Farm Basin	70
Outer Farm Basin	110
Rocky Hill Mereenie <500	0
Rocky Hill Mereenie 500-1000	3,687
Roe Creek Mereenie <500	8,800
Roe Creek Mereenie 500-1000	2,267
Roe Creek Pacoota	4,000
Roe Creek Shannon Goyder	1,000
Town Basin	1,000
Wanngardi Basin	30
Total	20,964

Licences

Groundwater is the primary consumptive water resource and is mainly extracted for use as public water supply.

There are also licensed groundwater extractions associated with horticulture, tourism and irrigation of public green space.

Find out how to get a licence.

View the groundwater licences in the plan area.

Aboriginal water reserves

The Alice Springs water allocation plan 2016 - 2026 was declared in February 2016. At the time, there was no government policy or legislation requiring an Aboriginal water reserve to be established.

Since 2019, the Water Act 1992 has required Aboriginal water reserves to be established if there is eligible Aboriginal land with access to the water resource when a water allocation plan is declared.

Advisory committee

The Alice Springs Plan Review Water Advisory Committee was established on 19 October 2020 to provide advice on the plan review.

It continues the work of the Alice Springs Water Advisory Committee which was appointed by the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in November 2016.