Water & coasts

Why water matters

Water is life. It enables the lives and economies that exist across the region. This priority encompasses the breadth of the water cycle, including rivers, creeks, pools, springs, wetlands, swamps, groundwater and surface water, extending to the coastal ecosystem and marine environment. 

The region’s rainfall varies significantly, from below 250mm per annum in the north to over 600mm per annum in the south. However, the region has, and will continue to, experience extended periods of low rainfall, rainfall variability and drought.

Our coastline

The region has over 1,300km of coastline with 47% of the State’s blue carbon ecosystems, important reef areas, seagrasses and marine systems that support fisheries and industry. The coast of Yorke Peninsula is a particularly diverse environment of beaches, dune systems, coastal heathlands, intertidal areas, samphire shrublands and flats, mangroves and salt marshes, but is subjected to heavy visitation and unmanaged access.

The region also encompasses part of the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary, located along the beaches north of Adelaide, and the terminal feeding grounds of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway around the coast of Gulf St Vincent. These critically important habitats provide breeding grounds, food and shelter for thousands of migratory birds but are threatened by climate change, sea level rise and encroaching urban development.

Our river systems

Our river systems are mostly ephemeral, with five main catchment areas: the Broughton, Gawler, Light, Wakefield and Willochra catchments. Although intermittent in flow, these systems and watercourses act as refuges for water-dependent animal and plant species, with surveys indicating each holds important habitat for macroinvertebrates, frogs, birds and reptiles.

Watercourses and riparian areas are threatened by livestock, pesticides, weed infestations, native vegetation clearance, modification or damming of watercourses, climate change impacts, reduced rainfall, changing seasonal patterns and increased extreme events.

How we manage it

The Landscape South Australia Act 2019 charges the Board with:

• Developing Water Allocation Plans for Prescribed Water Resource Areas (PWRAs) in the region. The Northern and Yorke region has three PWRAs wholly within its boundaries, with another four PWRAs shared in part with other landscape boards. A Water Allocation Plan is a legislative document detailing the management rules for surface water and/or groundwater use within a PWRA.
• Managing Water Affecting Activities, which include most works within a watercourse, such as the installation of water crossings, dams, weirs, culverts and diversion structures, as well as the clearance of native vegetation within a watercourse. The Board maintains a Water Control Policy and a Water Affecting Activities permit system to manage these activities.

This priority seeks to capture the importance of water and the coast to the region’s environmental, social and economic sustainability, recognising that these natural resources are vital to the people and environments of the region, both now and into the future.