Gwydir Regional Water Strategy

Public consultation 1

The first draft Gwydir Regional Water Strategy, which considers urban water needs, reliable water supply and the environment, was on public exhibition from 25 September – 13 December 2020.

The draft strategy was a set of 3 documents:

A comprehensive engagement and consultation program accompanied the release of the draft strategy. This included:

• face-to-face meetings
• online webinars
• formal submissions.

What we heard

Over 50 stakeholders participated in the engagement program and 32 formal submissions were received. Key themes that emerged during this consultation include climate and modelling, Aboriginal water rights and connection to Country, environmental health and connectivity, new and existing water infrastructure, groundwater, and entitlement reliability and risk management.

Public consultation 2

After incorporating the feedback from the community, the Gwydir Regional Water Strategy was on a second public exhibition from Wednesday, 1 June, until Wednesday, 29 June 2022.

The second draft was a set of two documents:

What we heard

In the second round of the public exhibition of Gwydir Regional Water Strategy, 56 stakeholders participated, and we received 8 formal submissions. Two additional topics were identified, relating to improving connectivity within and between catchments and the implementation, alignment and evaluation of the draft strategy.