The Upper Collie catchment is around 200 kilometres south of Perth in the south-west of Western Australia. The Upper Collie surface water and groundwater areas cover the upper reaches of the Collie River catchment. The Upper Collie plan boundary ends at the Wellington Dam wall.
The Collie River runs through the plan area and is fed from its major tributaries: the Harris River, Bingham River, Collie River East Branch and the Collie River South Branch.
The Wellington Reservoir on the Collie River is the largest reservoir in the south-west. Water in the Wellington Reservoir is marginal quality and the department is working to restore it to fresh water quality.
The major groundwater system in Collie is the Collie Coal Basin. This is made up of the Premier and Cardiff sub-basins. Coal is mined from the Collie Coal Basin through open-cut mining. This results in the need to dewater large volumes of groundwater. There is a high demand for surplus mine dewater as it can be used by third-parties, such as for cooling purposes by the local power industry.
We have developed an allocation plan for the water resources in the Upper Collie. The Upper Collie water allocation plan was released in August 2009. We also released our Statement of Response which provides our response to the submissions made on the plan for public comment during its three month pubic comment period.
The plan contains allocation limits that define how much water can be abstracted from the water resources each year. It includes policies for how we will allocate and manage water resources and informs how we will monitor, measure and evaluate the objectives of the plan.
The plan provides clear and consistent direction to current and future water users and addresses allocation issues.
Planning is needed to ensure that the needs of the community and the environment are protected while ensuring users with secure water supplies.
We are committed to making the information that we use in the planning process available to the public.
Please click on the following links to access the following documents:
Upper Collie water allocation plan Publish Date: 12/08/2009
Upper Collie water allocation plan : statement of response Publish Date: 12/08/2009
Upper Collie surface and groundwater allocation limits : methods and calculations Publish Date: 31/03/2003
Managing water in the Upper Collie : a status report on surface and groundwater management Publish Date: 27/07/2007
Preliminary Ecological Water Requirements of the Collie River East Branch: Risk Assessment of Salinity Mitigation Diversion Scenarios [report prepared for the Department of Water] Publish Date: 16/05/2008
Environmental water requirements study : Harris River and East Branch of the Collie River (downstream of the confluence ) to the South Branch Publish Date: 11/03/2005
Environmental water provisions : south branch of the Collie River – downstream from Western 5 Open Cut Publish Date: 11/03/2005
Water source options in the Collie-Wellington Basin: final report to the Minister for Water Resources and Mental Health Publish Date: 17/01/2008
Upper Collie water management plan: issue scoping report [prepared for the Department of Water] Publish Date: 27/07/2007
Hydrogeology and groundwater resources of the Collie Basin, Western Australia Publish Date: 14/01/2003
Groundwater model of the Collie Basin, Western Australia Publish Date: 07/01/2003
For licensing information, please contact our South West Regional office in Bunbury. Phone 08 9726 4111.
For planning information, please contact the Department of Water's Water Allocation Planning branch. Phone 08 6364 7600 or email allocationplanning@water.wa.gov.au.
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