Western Davenport

In 2015-16, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources undertook a soil and land suitability assessment in the Ali Curung area in parallel with a review of the Western Davenport water allocation plan.

The soil and land suitability assessment investigated 47,610 ha across pastoral and Indigenous land, and identified more than 43,840 ha of land suitable for a range of irrigated agricultural crops.

The current water allocation plan identifies an estimated sustainable yield for groundwater of 168,405 ML per year, with 30,000 ML per year allocated to the environment and non-consumptive cultural use and 138,405 ML per year available to be shared amongst consumptive users.

In recognition of growing interest to undertake further irrigated horticultural development in the Western Davenport area, further studies are underway to better understand groundwater availability and biodiversity assets in the area.

Improved mapping of depth to groundwater and knowledge of existence and requirements for protection of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are required to inform water allocation decisions and provide confidence in long term water availability.

More extensive mapping of the soil and land capability is also required to support development expansion.

A desktop soil and land suitability assessment, biodiversity and GDE surveys and groundwater drilling in the area has been undertaken to address these knowledge gaps. For more information about the report, go to the Northern Territory Government website.

Integrating these products has provide a comprehensive overview of the biophysical resources within the area and has informed development of the Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan.

Western Davenport locality map