The Gingin groundwater and surface water allocation plans: 2024 evaluation statement was released in June 2024.
The evaluation statement is the second published evaluation of the 2011 Gingin surface water allocation plan and the first for the 2015 Gingin groundwater allocation plan.
The statement evaluated the performance of both allocation plans since their release and found several ongoing risks to groundwater and surface water resources in the southern part of the region where climate change and abstraction has led to long term declines in groundwater levels and streamflow. The evaluation showed we needed to put updated management arrangements in place to help ensure the sustainability of these groundwater and surface water resources.
To help prevent further declines in these water resources and to reduce the risk of impacts on water users and the environment, the evaluation statement caps the allocation limits of surficial aquifer resources in the Gingin groundwater plan area at current licensed entitlements. It also updates the Gingin groundwater plan’s licensing and trading policy for Gingin watercourses (local licensing policy 1.2) and the trading rules for the Cowalla groundwater subarea (local licensing policy 1.4). The statement also includes revised low-flow thresholds for Gingin Brook and Lennard Brook based on dry season monitoring of water quality and aquatic fauna in key refuge habitats collected since the surface water plan was released.
The updated management arrangements in the evaluation statement will be considered in conjunction with the existing management arrangements for the area in the Gingin groundwater and Gingin surface water allocation plans.
Please download the document below.
