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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Water resources - Overview - Queensland
Surface Water Management Area: Haughton River
Introduction
Haughton River SWMA has a catchment area of 1955 sq km and is south of Townsville. It flows from Mingela in the west and enters the Coral Sea between Townsville and Ayr. To the north the catchment is bounded by Mount Elliot, to the west by the Hervey Mountain Range and to the south by the Barratta Creek catchment. The major tributaries of the Haughton River are Major Creek and Reid River.
The mean annual rainfall for the catchment for the 50 year period 1920 to 1969 varies between 750mm and 1300mm across the catchment.
The storages in the system includes Val Bird Weir (2055ML) and Giru Weir (1020ML) which provide recharge to the groundwater aquifers.
The Haughton River, via Haughton Main Channel system, is supplemented by water from the Burdekin River. This is taken from the ponded pool of Clare Weir and pumped to a balancing storage near the Haughton River. This water is used by the riparian irrigators along the river and also provides groundwater recharge to the Giru Benefitted Area.
Vital Statistics:
| Area: | 1,955 Km2 |
|---|---|
| Total storage volume: | 10,575 ML |
| Total surface water use: | 3,163 ML/yr |
| Development category: | HIGH DEVELOPMENT |
| Mean annual run-off: | 461,000 ML/yr |
A four-class classification system was developed to provide a simple method to communicate the status of the use and allocation of Australia's water resources in relation to sustainable water management.
It is important to recognise that adequately quantifying a sustainable flow regime or sustainable yield and consequent operating rules is a complex matter. State, Territory and scientific agencies continue to develop and apply methods and measures for determining sustainable flow regimes and sustainable yields.
This categorisation provides a general guide only. Please refer to the State and Territory Overview and Technical reports for detail on the analysis methods used.
| Category | Development status | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | <30% | Low development |
| 2 | 30 - 70% | Moderate development |
| 3 | 70 - 100% | Highly developed |
| 4 | 100% | Overdeveloped |
* Water use as a percentage of sustainable flow regime (surface water) and sustainable yield (groundwater)
PLEASE NOTE:
Sustainable Yield:
No sustainable yield studies are available for this SWMA.
PLEASE NOTE:
Categorisation:
No sustainable yield studies are available for this SWMA.
There is a high level of development in this SWMA and no major storages. Water is imported into this SWMA from Burdekin SWMA 120.A. A Water Allocation and Management Plan is currently being developed for this SWMA.
How saline are the surface water resources in the Haughton River surface water management area?
No data were available about the salinity of surface water resources in the Basin / SWMA for the Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000.
Major water storages
Table: Major water storage areas:
| Storage name: | Capacity (ML) |
|---|---|
| Val Bird | 2,055 |
| Giru | 1,020 |
| Healeys Lagoon (+Aquifer) | 7,500 |
| Total | 10,575 |
Further Information
- View the Queensland Water Resources Assessment 2000 Report
- View the Queensland Water Resources Assessment 2000 Technical Report
- Link to data available for download on the:
- Surface Water Management Areas
- Data from the 1985 Review of Australia's Water Resources and Water Use
- Link to the Map Maker to make a map using this information.
- For more information about water and other natural resource issues link to www.nrm.qld.gov.au.