Adelaide River water plan feature on the panel
The Northern Territory (NT) Government is preparing a water allocation plan for the Adelaide River.
The water plan will identify how water will be shared between users, including the environment. The plan is:
- informed by science
- developed with the community
- keeping the Adelaide River free-flowing
- maintaining environmental and cultural values
- preserving our Territory lifestyle
A key consideration in developing the water allocation plan is the potential impacts from water take to the ecology and hydrology of the Adelaide River. These potential impacts must be identified and assessed to make sure any water take is sustainable.
The NT Government Department of Lands, Planning and Environment has asked CSIRO to form, convene and lead an independent, scientific ecohydrological Technical Advisory Panel (the Panel) to support the development of the water plan.
Members of the panel are experts in relevant disciplines, including the biology and ecology of aquatic flora and fauna, and ecological processes and water regimes of the Adelaide River catchment, including associated floodplain ecosystems.
The Panel will:
- identify key water-dependent ecological assets of the Adelaide River catchment
- develop flow considerations for those assets
- assess the ecological risks of water-take scenarios provided to the Panel by the NT Government
- recommend future priority monitoring and research needs required to support the sustainable management of the water resource
- produce an Environmental Flow Implementation Report – providing scientific advice and recommending activities to improve understanding of ecological water requirements
- produce an Ecohydrological Risk Assessment – identifying strategies to manage and mitigate ecological risk from water take
For further information about the Panel, go to the Adelaide River Ecohydrological Technical Advisory Panel website.
For further information about the water plan, go to the Water Security website.
To be kept informed about the plan, including the public comment period, please email waterresources.dlpe@nt.gov.au to be added to the mail-out list.
