Water affecting activities

Water resources on Eyre Peninsula are precious and need to be managed sustainably. This includes watercourses, lakes, dams, wetlands and watercourse habitat, springs, soaks, and catchment landscapes. Some activities can have adverse impacts on the health and condition of water resources, the ecosystems that depend on them, as well as on downstream and other water users.

Water affecting activities are activities and works that can impact on the health and condition of water resources, water dependant ecosystems and other water users. Under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019, an approved permit is required to undertake a water affecting activity. Our Water Affecting Activity Control Policy sets out the principles for managing water infrastructure and water take.

Water affecting activity permits are applied to, and approved by, the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board and must comply with the Regional Landscape Board Plan. Activities and works that require permits include but are not limited to:

• Constructing or enlarging dams or structures that collect or divert water;
• building structures, obstructing or depositing solid materials in a watercourse or lake (e.g. constructing creek crossings, fords and culvert causeways, erosion control, flood control and dumping material);
• excavating material from a watercourse (e.g. excavating or modifying springs, soaks and waterholes, removing sand or soil, cleaning out drainage channels);

• destroying vegetation in a watercourse (e.g. removal of reeds);

• draining or discharging water or wastewater into a watercourse or lake (e.g. desalination waste, stormwater discharge, drainage and salinity control); and
• drilling, deepening and back filling wells, bores and ground water access trenches.

If you are planning to undertake a water affecting activity, please read the below factsheet about water affecting activity permits; and don’t hesitate to contact our Water Resources Assessment Officer (ph: 8688 3225). Permit application forms are listed below the factsheets.

Factsheets & resources

• Factsheet: Permits - Water Affecting Activities
• Factsheet: Dams EP
• Factsheet: Guidelines for desilting dams
• Factsheet: Guidelines for cleaning and desilting springs, soaks and waterholes
• Factsheet: Contractor obligations
• Facts: Water testing (free Landscape Board service - water salinity and pH testing).
• Factsheet: Groundwater Access Trenches
• Establishing new dams manual (7MB) - updated in 2022 - which contains information about siting, designing, construction and management. If you would like a hard copy of this dams guide, please contact us at EPLBadmin@sa.gov.au.
• Find out more about dam safety, maintenance and flooding risk.

Permits for water affecting activities

Water affecting activities need to be managed carefully and require a permit.

Please download the relevant form, complete and send with the permit fee to Water Resources Officer, PO Box 2916, Port Lincoln SA 5606.

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