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Alice Springs water allocation plan

The plan applies to the most highly used groundwater resources within the northern 45% of the Alice Springs water control district.

Groundwater within this plan area is mostly allocated and used for public water supply in Alice Springs.

Plan objectives

The main objectives are to:

  • balance the retention and preservation of key environmental values dependent on water with the overall benefits provided by the water resources
  • ensure water licence decisions account for Aboriginal and other cultural values dependent on water
  • predict and protect water for rural stock and domestic purposes
  • provide long-term security of a sufficient quantity and quality of water for public water supplies
  • set aside water to support local Aboriginal economic development
  • provide access to water to support sustainable development for the benefit of the region.

Consultation

Consultation was carried out in February and March 2026 to inform the draft plan.

This included:

  • direct engagement with stakeholders
  • a 4-week public comment period from February to March 2026.

Read more about the feedback and the government’s response in the consultation summary PDF (1.2 MB).

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 Government Gazette.

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

Read the Government Gazette PDF (213.2 KB) published on 23 July 2026.

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, recharges the Wanngardi Basin.

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

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.

Allocations

The water allocation plan identifies 5 groundwater water resources, each with an estimated sustainable yield. The estimated sustainable yield 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.

Beneficial uses Town Basin Inner Farm Outer FarmWanngardiMereenie
Rural stock and domestic 530 200 810 180 120
Public water supply 0 0 0 0 13,000
Aboriginal water reserve for Aboriginal economic development 130 10 10 0 1,020
Other consumptive uses – agriculture, aquaculture, cultural, industry, mining and petroleum activities 1,140 60 100 60 5,550
Environment* 200 50 200 100 70
Estimated sustainable yields ML/year 2,000 320 1,120 340 19,760

*This amount is allocated to the environment to meet the requirement in section 22B(6) of the Act. This water is not extracted and is retained in the environment to maintain ecological functions and environmental values in the region. This volume is additional to the volume of water that remains in the water resource and cannot be taken.

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

Aboriginal Water Reserves are established by the plan for water management zones where eligible land has been designated under the plan. A total of 1,170 ML per year has been allocated for Aboriginal economic development in the plan area.

Contact

If you have any questions about permits or licensing requirements in the area, email water.licensing@nt.gov.au.

For water planning enquiries, email waterresources@nt.gov.au.

Water control districts