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Government of Western Australia Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
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Planning for the future Show Sub Nav
Finding water Finding Water

Finding new water resources, including Royalties for Regions-funded programs and other drilling programs to explore resources across the state.

Water allocation plans Photo from consultation for the Gingin groundwater allocation plan

Information about allocation plans, which set out how much water can be reliably taken from groundwater and surface water sources for productive purposes while ensuring the sustainability of the resource and protection of the water-dependent environment.

Meeting demand 1.3.1 Crop irrigation

Information about ensuring sustainable water supplies for the state’s population and industries, including the Water for Growth and Water for Food programs.

Rural water support Rural Assistance

Click here to apply for rebates and grants for farmers, pastoralists and rural communities to improve local water supplies and for information about assistance to help farmers access water during dry seasons.

Flood planning and mapping Meeting demand

Information, advice and management of flood plans based on flood behaviour research and floodplain mapping for the state's major rivers.

Water and land use planning Narrows Bridge

Integrated water and land use planning based on the principles of total water cycle management.

Innovation

The Department of Water invites you to share your ideas on creating innovative solutions to water challenges.

Licensing Show Sub Nav
Water licensing Water Licensing

Licences and how to apply, licensing policies, forms to download and answers to questions frequently asked by current and prospective licensees.

Water trading Water Trading

Find out who is eligible to trade water entitlements and how applications are assessed. Click here to identify potential trading partners from the Water Register.

Metering and measurement

Metering and measuring the water you take helps you understand your water usage to make the most of your entitlements and reduce your overall costs.

Water licensing fees

New fees for water licence and permit applications are being introduced to the mining and public water supply sectors from the 13 November 2018, post

Legislation Show Sub Nav
Current legislation Current Legislation

Current legislation for which the Department of Water assists the Minister for Water. Click here for current WA legislation.

Water reform

We are updating our policy and legislation to deliver water resource management legislation that is flexible, progressive and capable of managing water today and in the future.

Urban water Show Sub Nav
Water services Water Services

Legislation and policy for Western Australia’s water service providers.

Urban development Urban Development

Planning and managing water to enable growing, liveable water smart towns and cities.

Recycling and efficiency Recycling

Information about wastewater recycling, water efficiencies and the use of fit-for-purpose water. Recycling is encouraged whenever it is socially, economically and environmentally acceptable to make smart use of waste water for the ongoing development of the State.

Bores Domestic Garden Watering

For information on groundwater, garden bores and waterwise gardens please visit our Be Groundwater Wise website. You can find questions and answers about garden bores,

Drinking water Mundaring Weir

Protecting and managing public drinking water source areas including policies relating to public drinking water source areas, water source protection plans, water quality strategies and management and review processes.

Water topics Show Sub Nav
Groundwater Ground Water

Information on the state’s groundwater resources, locations, investigations, aquifer recharge and sustainable management of water resources, including an overview of state groundwater investigations.

Surface water Surface Water

Surface water, like rivers and streams used for public water supply, self-supply, irrigation, recreation and hydropower and rainfall and streamflow monitoring, catchment modelling and flood studies to manage surface water.

Water quality Water Quality

Click here for information about water quality, including public drinking water source areas, salinity, brochures, fact sheets and best management practices for various land uses and activities to help protect water quality and public health.

Waterways Rivers and Estuaries

Rivers and estuaries and their importance including information on monitoring and assessing waterways, protecting, understanding, planning, restoring, and risks and threats.

Estuaries

There are 166 estuaries in Western Australia as established through the National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA) 2000, where an estuary is defined as

Irrigation Irrigation

Click here for information on types of irrigators, licenses and the role of irrigation as an economic enabler for industry.

Onshore petroleum and water resources 5.6 Shale_and_tight_gas.jpg

Information on the department’s role in relation to the shale and tight gas industry.

Maps & data Show Sub Nav
Maps Maps

A detailed collection of online atlases and maps with information on the State’s water resources, including depth to groundwater, garden bore suitability, geology and proclaimed management areas.

Monitoring and data Data logger hut

Information and reports collected from the department's extensive State-wide monitoring network, which are provided free for water management, state development and research purposes.

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    • What are waterways, rivers, estuaries and wetlands?
    • Values of our waterways
    • Threats to our waterways
    • Assessing waterway health
    • Managing our waterways
      • Legislation, policies and guidelines for waterways
      • Considering waterways in planning and development
      • Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIPs)
      • Waterways management, action and recovery plans
      • Modelling catchments, land use impacts, and management effectiveness
      • Low dissolved oxygen and oxygenation
      • Restoring our rivers
      • River Restoration Manual
      • Urban waterways management and living streams
      • Soil amendments
      • Water notes
      • Waterway protection and management
      • Kent Street Weir refurbishment
    • Vasse Geographe Strategy
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Restoring our rivers

Restoring our rivers

Most waterways in Western Australia are modified to some degree and some have been extensively altered so that they retain few of their natural features or values. Waterway restoration may be necessary to maintain or improve their environmental, social and economic services.

Waterway restoration aims to protect and restore the physical form and ecological processes of a waterway in a way that supports it to progress toward its natural state. A restored section of Bannister Creek

The Department of Water supports government agencies, industry, natural resource management groups, communities and individuals with planning, implementing and evaluating waterway management activities, including by preparing waterways management plans and supporting river action plans for priority waterways.

We provide guidance and technical expertise about river restoration and management. This includes addressing hydrological issues, restoring channel alignment and form, erosion and sedimentation, stabilising banks, pool and riffle construction, designing fishways, identifying and protecting foreshore areas and the design of living streams.

We also assist with collating and analysing water monitoring data which is used to design and evaluate waterway restoration projects. This includes data on water quality, ecological water requirements and trends in the hydrological regime, including water levels.

Restoration resources

This list contains key links and resources to help with assessing, planning, monitoring and restoring waterways:

  • Assessing waterway health provides guidance about methods of assessing waterway condition (such as foreshore condition assessment) to inform restoration planning, and to monitor effectiveness of restoration and management efforts.
  • Framework for prioritisation of waterways for management in Western Australia is a planning tool for natural resource and land managers.  It provides a consistent and transparent approach to setting priorities for waterways management that can help identify where to focus restoration efforts. It ranks waterways in terms of their ecological, social and economic values and also according to their level of threat.  Based on these rankings, waterways are broad categories and appropriate management responses for each of these categories are proposed.
  • Water notes and Water facts  provide an introduction and general guide to waterway and wetland ecology, restoration and management. See also Building creek crossings.
  • The River Restoration Manual is a series of publications that outline the basic principles of how waterways in south-west Western Australia function and provides guidelines for the planning, restoration and long-term management of waterways in Western Australia.
  • Foreshores for waterways protection  - information about identifying and protecting an appropriate foreshore area which may be necessary prior to restoration, and preparing a foreshore management plan.
  • Living streams  - advice about restoring highly modified urban waterways and artificial drains to improve water quality and other values.
  • Protecting our environment and the Environmental water provisions policy for Western Australia - information about our policy in relation to maintaining water flows to support waterway and other environmental values when we make decisions about how much water is available for human purposes.
  • Water quality protection notes  provide information about managing threats to water quality in the context of a range of land uses and activities.
  • Rivercare projects : successes, impediments, learnings : 1997-1998, 1999, and 2000  – three reports that evaluate previous Western Australian waterways restoration projects.
  • Managing waterways in the Avon wheatbelt: field guide  - assists all landowners and land managers (including local and state government) to protect and improve waterways and riparian land in the Avon Wheatbelt region and manage the issues that affect them, including salinity, sediments, weeds and fire.
  • A guide to managing and restoring wetlands in Western Australia  may be a useful source of advice for the management and restoration of wetlands associated with waterways.
Page last updated - 14 Apr 2015
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The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation was established by the Government of Western Australia on 1 July 2017. It is a result of the amalgamation of the Department of Environment Regulation, Department of Water and the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority. This website/publication may contain references to previous government departments and programs. Please contact the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to clarify any specific information.

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