• Overland flow
• Regulating the taking of overland flow
• New and existing works
• Fact sheets
• Development codes for new works
• Further information

Overland flow

Overland flow water is water that runs across the land after rainfall, either before it enters a watercourse, after it leaves a watercourse as floodwater, or after it rises to the surface naturally from underground.

Overland flow:

• sustains critical environmental processes such as fish breeding and the periodic flooding required by river red gums
• is important for irrigating crops, replenishing pasture and assisting other agricultural and commercial purposes
• is an important source of water in rural communities
• is of critical importance to healthy waterways.

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Regulating the taking of overland flow

To ensure adequate environmental flows and long-term security for water users, it is necessary to balance the amount of water taken and the amount left to flow into watercourses.

Water resource plans regulate the building of works that take overland flow water either actively or passively.

Works that actively take overland flow water include:

• pumps, storages, sumps, drains and pipes used to take and store it
• any storage connected to another one used to take it, and the connecting infrastructure
• structures used to hold it for ponded pastures.

Works that passively take overland flow water include:

• levees or diversion banks used to direct it into dams, or to slow it down to increase the amount taken. This does not include works used in soil conservation.

Water resource plans do not regulate works that ‘interfere’ with, but were not built specifically to take overland flow. However, local planning laws may still regulate the building of these structures which include:

• contour banks
• fences
• roads
• flood mitigation structures.

Currently, the taking of overland flow water is regulated in the following water resource plan areas:

• Border Rivers
• Burdekin Basin
• Calliope River Basin
• Condamine and Balonne
• Fitzroy Basin
• Georgina and Diamantina
• Gulf
• Mitchell 
• Moonie
• Moreton
• Warrego, Paroo, Bulloo, and Nebine.

You can view and download copies of these plans from the website of the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel.

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New and existing works

In some areas of Queensland, constructing new works for taking overland flow water is limited by moratoriums, which continue to have effect until the water resource planning process is complete. The water resource plans established as a result of this may stipulate rules for managing overland flow.

The rules regulating both existing works and proposed new works to take overland flow water commenced in the following plan areas:

• Border Rivers, Moonie and Warrego, Paroo, Bulloo and Nebine—1 July 2004
• Burdekin—2 August 2007
• Calliope—15 December 2006
• Condamine and Balonne—1 February 2005
• Cooper Creek (moratorium only)—22 April 2004
• Fitzroy Basin—22 July 2005
• Georgina and Diamantina—6 August 2004
• Gulf—2 November 2007
• Mitchell—2 November 2007
• Moreton—16 March 2007

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Fact sheets

For information on the regulation and management of overland flow water, refer to the following fact sheets:

• Overland flow water (PDF, 109 kB)*
• New works for capturing contaminated agricultural runoff  (PDF, 76 kB)*
• Existing works for taking overland flow water  (PDF, 113 kB)*
• New works that are limited capacity water storages  (PDF, 110 kB)*

Development codes for new works

• Code for self-assessable development for taking overland flow water for stock and domestic purposes (PDF, 259 kB)*
• Code for self-assessable development for taking overland flow water using limited capacity works (PDF, 36 kB)*
• Code for self-assessable development for taking overland flow water to satisfy the requirements of an environmental authority or a development permit for carrying out an environmentally relevant activity (PDF, 69 kB)*
• Code for assessable development for operational works for taking overland flow water (PDF, 47 kB)*

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Further information

For more information on overland flow water you can contact your local office of the Department of Natural Resources and Water.

Border Rivers; Condamine Balonne; Moonie; and Warrego, Paroo, Bullo and Nebine
Water Services Office
PO Box 318
Toowoomba  Qld  4350
Phone: 07 4688 1000
Fax: 07 4688 1188

Burdekin Basin and Gulf
Water Services Office
PO Box 591
Ayr  Qld  4807
Phone: 07 4783 0423
Fax: 07 4783 7291
Email the Ayr office

Fitzroy and Calliope River Basin
Water Services Office
PO Box 1762
Rockhampton  Qld  4700
Phone: 1800 822 100
Fax: 07 4927 3079
Email the Rockhampton office

Georgina and Diamantina
Longreach Office
PO Box 210
Longreach Qld 4730
Phone: 07 4650 1900
Fax: 07 4650 1902

Mitchell
PO Box 156
Mareeba Qld  4880
Phone: 07 4048 4850
Fax: 07 4092 2366
Email the Mareeba office

Moreton
PO Box 1653
Coorparoo DC  Qld  4151
Phone: 1800 308 252
Fax: 07 3224 2933

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*Requires Acrobat Reader