1.3.1.2 Compiling assets and developing the water-dependent asset register


1.3.1.2.1 Ecological assets

Asset information was compiled by the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority and the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority. These asset data were delivered for compilation into the asset database via the Water Asset Information Tool (WAIT) database. The WAIT database was compiled by natural resource management organisations (NRMs) and contributions from those with expert local knowledge from local government, regional water corporations and other stakeholders. Data were also obtained from other national, state and regional authorities to complement the coverage of assets compiled in the WAIT database for the Gippsland Basin bioregion (Table 3).

Table 3 Data sources for ecological assets in the Gippsland Basin bioregion


Dataseta

Organisation

Website address

Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD)

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/land/nrs/science‑maps‑and‑data/capad

A directory of important wetlands in Australia (DIWA)

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/water/water‑our‑environment/wetlands/australian‑wetlands‑database/directory‑important

National atlas of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDE Atlas) including:

  • subsurface presence of groundwater data
  • surface expression of groundwater

Bureau of Meteorology

http://www.bom.gov.au/water/groundwater/gde/

Threatened ecological communities listed under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/communities

Threatened species listed under the EPBC Act

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species

Data: Department of the Environment (Dataset 2), Australian Government Department of the Environment (Dataset 3), Bureau of Meteorology (Dataset 4), Australian Government Department of the Environment (Dataset 5, Dataset 6)

The asset database (Bioregional Assessment Programme, Dataset 1) is a collation of all these source datasets. Some assets may be captured in multiple databases. These replicates are retained in the asset register as boundaries may differ between databases.

1.3.1.2.2 Economic assets

All economic assets are types of water access entitlements, either water access rights or basic water rights. In Victoria, water access entitlements come under the ‘water entitlement framework’ of the Victorian Water Act 1989. Water access rights in Victoria are known as ‘take and use licences’. Within the asset database, every water access entitlement is an element. Elements are grouped by type and also spatially to create assets. Basic landholder rights (i.e. a type of basic water right), including riparian rights, maintain the right of those adjacent to rivers, estuaries, lakes or aquifers underlying the land to extract water for domestic and stock use without a water access licence. Basic landholder rights are defined by the jurisdiction based on the location of the water source and include an estimated volume of use based on the number of landholders with adjacent water sources. A fuller description of the process is given in the companion submethodology M02 for compiling water‑dependent assets (Mount et al., 2015).

For economic assets, the water access entitlement assets are divided into two classes:

  • basic water right (stock and domestic) – this is the right to take water for domestic and stock purposes only. In Victoria, a basic right for ‘take of groundwater’ requires approval for the works (bore infrastructure) but does not require a licence for the extraction of groundwater. In Victoria, a basic right for ‘take of surface water’ does not require an approval for the works or approval for the extraction of surface water.
  • water access right – In Victoria, this requires a licence both for the works and the extraction of the water. The extraction of the water can be for a range of purposes including irrigation, commercial, industrial, farming, dewatering, mining, intensive agriculture etc.

Groundwater and surface water access entitlement data were obtained from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Southern Rural Water respectively (Bioregional Assessment Programme, Dataset 1; Bureau of Meteorology, Dataset 7). Data covered groundwater and surface water access licences, and their corresponding works locations. These data are not currently available publicly and were obtained by special request. Consistent with how water licensing information is published under the Commonwealth’s Water Act 2007, this data will be published in an aggregated form.

In collating the economic elements, it was considered important to ensure no current water access entitlements were excluded, even where there was doubt about the use of the entitlement (e.g. ‘sleeper’ licences). For example, basic water rights (stock and domestic) do not have to be renewed on a frequent basis leading to some uncertainty about their current use status. This meant that only surface water and groundwater licences that were 'abandoned', 'cancelled' or 'suspended' as at 20 November 2013 were marked as not ‘current’ or ‘active’ and therefore excluded for BA purposes. Also excluded for assessment purposes were any water access licences that did not have a corresponding works approval with location information. Where works (locations) information was present it was linked to the particular surface water or groundwater licences, and a count added to show how many works were associated with each licence. The volume of the licence was then equally split among the works to ensure that the licence volumes were not double-counted. A geographic information system (GIS) layer was derived using the spatial coordinates provided with the licensed work approvals. This spatial layer was overlain with the PAE for the Gippsland Basin bioregion. The intersection of the two layers combined with the related attribute data gave a spatially explicit view of the entitlements of interest to the assessment within the PAE, with a volume of surface water or groundwater attributed to each works.

The class of asset (as described in the companion submethodology for compiling water-dependent assets (Mount et al., 2015) was aggregated using the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning ’F_Type’ (purpose) field which records the purpose for which water is used. Any purpose that was listed as ‘Domestic’ and/or ‘Stock’ was included in the class 'Basic water right’. Where ‘Stock’ and/or ‘Domestic’ was listed with another licensed purpose, it was listed as a 'Water access right'. 'Water access right' was based on anything that had an extractive use purpose such as, for example, commercial, irrigation, farming, industrial, or mine dewatering.

Each water access right licence can have one or multiple works associated with it, where the works is the location where the water is extracted through a bore or pump. The processing for economic assets assumed that each of the works associated with a licence extracts an equal share of the volume. Therefore if there is one groundwater licence of 80 ML/year that has four works (bores) associated with it, then 20 ML/year is assigned to each of those works. It is not possible to validate this processing assumption for economic assets within the scope of this Gippsland Basin BA. Furthermore, it is possible that the majority of extraction occurs at a single works location and is not evenly distributed across all works associated with the licence.

Groundwater elements that were not classified as a basic water right or a water access right were classed as ‘null’. These included test bores, bores installed for groundwater remediation, exploratory bores, exploratory research, monitoring bores and waste disposal bores. These elements are ‘flagged’ in the asset database and are not included in the water‑dependent asset register.

1.3.1.2.3 Sociocultural assets

Some sociocultural data were listed in the WAIT database, some have been sourced from the Australian Heritage Database (Department of the Environment, 2013) (Table 4).

Meetings have been held with Indigenous knowledge holders in the Gippsland Basin bioregion to gain an understanding of Indigenous cultural water‑dependent assets. Where possible and appropriate, and with the agreement of Indigenous knowledge holders, these additional Indigenous water-related values will be published in a separate report. Identified assets will be incorporated into an updated water-dependent asset register (available at ‘http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/product/GIP/GIP/1.3’) and/or incorporated into later technical products.

Table 4 Data sources in the Australian Heritage Database for sociocultural assets in the Gippsland Basin bioregion


Dataseta

Organisation

Website address

World Heritage List

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/heritage/publications‑and‑resources/australian‑heritage‑database

National Heritage List

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/heritage/publications‑and‑resources/australian‑heritage‑database

Commonwealth Heritage List

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/heritage/publications‑and‑resources/australian‑heritage‑database

Register of the National Estate (RNE)

Department of the Environment

http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/heritage/publications‑and‑resources/australian‑heritage‑database

Data: Australian Government Department of the Environment (Dataset 8, Dataset 9, Dataset 10, Dataset 11)

The asset database (Bioregional Assessment Programme, Dataset 1) is a collation of all these source datasets. Some assets may be captured in multiple databases. These replicates are retained in the asset register as boundaries may differ between databases.

Last updated:
28 September 2018