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DWE Home > Home > across the state > Barwon >

Barwon Region

The Barwon occupies the major inland catchments of the Border Rivers, Gwydir and Namoi, from the tablelands and the upper reaches of the Northern Rivers Catchments, through to the slopes and plains incorporating small parts of some surrounding catchments. The Barwon is 117,224 square kilometres in area, which represents 15 per cent of the State. The five major storage areas are Pindari Dam, Copeton Dam, Split Rock Dam, Keepit Dam, and Chaffey Dam. Operation of these storages is under the control of State Water Corporation.

The major industry sectors in the Barwon are agriculture and agribusiness, aviation, education, engineering and construction, manufacturing, mining and tourism. The gross value of agricultural commodities production is $1.8 billion, which represents 21 per cent of the state's total agricultural production. The Barwon is an important centre for irrigated and dryland cotton production, produces world-class fine wool and is a centre for livestock production and specialist breeding programs. There is a strong presence of associated enterprises including major lamb and beef processing facilities, as well as high quality leather processors.

The Department's Tamworth and Narrabri offices are responsible for administering water licences and assessing regulated, unregulated and groundwater water allocations in the Barwon region.

Currently, Macro Water Plans are being prepared for unregulated rivers and groundwater systems in the New England North West. These plans will generally apply to catchments where there is less intensive water use and which account for most of the remaining 20 percent of water use not already managed by existing water sharing plans.

The Barwon plays a major role in data gathering, resource information management, analysis and interpretation in planning for and monitoring the health of our natural resources. Activities include groundwater monitoring and management, surface water quality monitoring and management, riverine assessment and stream gauging.The Gwydir Wetlands are of regional, national and international importance because they support a wide variety of rare, endangered and vulnerable species. They support a number of common species at the edge of their range and maintains genetic and ecological diversity. In 2005 the NSW Government released the NSW Wetlands Policy which contains a strong commitment to the conservation, sustainable management and wise use of the state's wetlands.

Staff also offer management advice, technical services, information and expertise in a number of other areas including:

• Floodplain Harvesting Policy
• Peel Water Sharing Plan
• Great Artesian Basin Water Sharing Plan
• Border Rivers Water Sharing Plan
• Wetland Recovery Project
• Cap & Pipe the Bores Program
• Achieving Sustainable Groundwater Entitlement (ASGE) Program
• Resource Monitoring