Macquarie-Castlereagh Alluvium Water Resource Plan

What area does the plan cover?

The Macquarie-Castlereagh Alluvium Water Resource Plan covers groundwater within the alluvial deposits of the Macquarie–Castlereagh catchment in central-western NSW.

The Macquarie-Castlereagh Alluvium (GW12) is composed of the following seven sustainable diversion limit resource units (SDL resource units):

• Bell Valley alluvium (GS11)
• Castlereagh alluvium (GS14)
• Coolaburragundy–Talbragar alluvium (GS15)
• Cudgegong alluvium (GS16)
• Lower Macquarie alluvium (GS26)
• Upper Macquarie alluvium (GS45)

Groundwater within the Great Artesian Basin is not included in the Murray–Darling Basin water sources as the Commonwealth Water Act 2007 excludes it.

Commonwealth accreditation process

The NSW Government first submitted the Macquarie-Castlereagh Alluvium Water Resource Plan to the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) in April 2020 and resubmitted it with changes in June 2022. The plan is now operational, following its accreditation by the MDBA in December 2022.

Changes made to the draft plan based on feedback from public consultation and the MDBA’s preliminary advice are provided in the summary of changes fact sheet PDF, 261.82 KB.

• You can read the final accredited plan on the MDBA website.

Public exhibition

Public exhibition of the Macquarie–Castlereagh Alluvium Water Resource Plan is now closed. Public information sessions were held in Dubbo, Narromine and Mudgee in November 2018. All submissions have been reviewed by the department.

The following respondents agreed to have their submissions published on this website. Note that not respondents elected to have their submissions published.