Barossa Water Allocation Plan
Amendment process
The Northern and Yorke Landscape Board has compiled and reviewed the feedback received during the statutory consultation held in late 2025.
The existing Your Say page used for the consultation on the Barossa WAP Amendment has now been updated with the following:
- Consultation Report of activities done and ‘what we heard’
- Surface water fact sheet with 2025 data
- Groundwater fact sheet with 2025 data
- WAP adoption and implementation process and timeline fact sheet
- Water licensing process and timeline fact sheet
The final amended Plan is being submitted to the Minister for approval, with the targeted timing for implementation from 1 July 2026.
View the interactive map to see where your property is as part of the management approaches in the new amended Water Allocation Plan for the Barossa Prescribed Water Resources Area.
The original Water Allocation Plan (WAP) for the Barossa Prescribed Water Resources Area (PWRA) was adopted in 2009.
The WAP aims to:
- protect the resource for all water users and water dependent ecosystems, now and into the future
- provide greater certainty for water users.
The 2009 WAP was developed by the former Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board. Since 2020, the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board has continued the process of updating and amending it, with public consultation of the draft amended WAP now underway. Subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on the process.
Amendment process history
2025
- Statutory public consultation process was undertaken from July to October.
2024
- The draft amended Barossa WAP was reviewed by the Department for the Environment and Water and the Crown Solicitor’s Office to ensure it was technically and legally sound, ready for the statutory public consultation process.
- Amendments of the draft WAP to include updated science and monitoring information and improved modelling for the surface water and groundwater resources.
2023-2022
- Pre-consultation activities including workshops, forums and surveys presented the science and monitoring data and provided an opportunity for discussions about possible management options.
- Targeted engagement with Ngadjuri, Peramangk and Kaurna First Nations representatives occurred to incorporate First Nations water interests for the first time.