Surface water caps
Surface water resource caps are administered by regional, state and inter-jurisdictional
bodies. This multi-layered approach means that each jurisdiction has a unique
arrangement for managing caps. Caps can be:
- absolutea cap beyond which there is no intention that the
level of entitlements could be increased (e.g. the Murray-Darling Basin Cap).
- provisionala cap that recognises that the level of entitlement
may be raised in the future (e.g. a preliminary cap has been implemented
in some areas until detailed studies can be completed)
Most catchments in the Murray-Darling Basin have set a cap that meets the 1993-94
levels of development definition of the
Murray-Darling
Basin Commission Cap.
The Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory cap volumes are yet to
be determined, although the Australian Capital Territory already has an absolute
cap that is based upon local management concerns.
The irrigation of rice is a major user of water in the Murray-Darling Basin
Image by Arthur Mostead, sourced from the MDBC
Caps have been placed on many basins and catchments since 1997. In most cases,
these original caps were based on existing entitlements when it was realised
that the resource was limited in volume. These caps did not represent the sustainable
yield, nor were they the result of an assessment of environmental water requirements.
During the last five to ten years, many of these caps have been re-assessed
to include impacts on groundwater and other environmental assets. This work
is still progressing and each jurisdiction has a different regime to assess
water resource caps. In Victoria, the sustainable yield or real' cap for
some catchments has been assessed. Queensland and New South Wales have undertaken
similar works for subcatchment areas or specific river reaches. In South Australia,
Western Australia and the Northern Territory, water resource management is
generally dominated by groundwater because it is the more abundant resource.
As a result, surface water caps are generally not a priority, apart from some
specific areas that have significant surface water resources (e.g. prescribed
areas in South Australia).
Related links
Surface water caps are discussed in more detail in the following sections:
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