The challenge

The Adelaide River in the Top End of the Northern Territory rises in Litchfield National Park and flows north into the Arafura Sea north-east of Darwin. The Northern Territory (NT) Government is preparing a water allocation plan for the Adelaide River. The water plan will identify how water will be shared between users, including the environment. The plan is informed by science and developed with the community.

A key consideration in developing the water allocation plan is the potential impacts from water take to the ecology and hydrology of the Adelaide River. These potential impacts must be identified and assessed to make sure any water take is sustainable.

The Adelaide River catchment is outlined in black in this map. Map courtesy Northern Territory Government.

The response

The NT Government Department of Lands, Planning and Environment has asked CSIRO to form, convene and lead an independent, scientific ecohydrological Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) to support the development of the water allocation plan.

This project

Project scope

The TAP will run until September 2025 and will:

  • identify key water-dependent ecological assets of the Adelaide River catchment
  • develop flow considerations for those assets
  • assess the ecological risks of water-take scenarios provided to the TAP by the NT Government
  • recommend future priority monitoring and research needs required to support the sustainable management of the water resource into the future
  • produce 2 publicly available technical reports of its findings.

Activities that are out of scope for the Adelaide River ecohydrological TAP include (but are not limited to):

  • critically reviewing all the science contributing to the Adelaide River water allocation plan
  • explicitly identifying or assessing cultural assets of the Adelaide River catchment
  • recommending any course of action regarding water-take scenarios, sustainable yields or environmental flow rules
  • assessing the risks of all possible water-take scenarios
  • undertaking a detailed determination of environmental flow requirements of all ecological assets in the Adelaide River catchment
  • conducting new research, including quantitative assessment modelling.

The Technical Advisory Panel

The Adelaide River ecohydrological TAP is chaired by Dr Alison King, CSIRO.

Members of the panel are experts in relevant disciplines, including the biology and ecology of aquatic flora and fauna, and ecological processes and water regimes of the Adelaide River catchment, including associated floodplain ecosystems.

Members of the TAP

Members of the TAP and their expertise are listed below.

  • Dr Alison King (Chair), CSIRO
    • freshwater ecology, environmental flows, freshwater fish recruitment
  • Dr Carmel Pollino, CSIRO
    • ecological modelling, risk assessment frameworks, Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment
  • Dr Cuan Petheram , CSIRO
    • hydrology, Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment
  • Dr Tanya Doody, CSIRO
    • vegetation, water use, ecohydrology
  • Professor David Crook, La Trobe University (adjunct)
    • freshwater and diadromous fish and elasmobranch ecology, fish movements, environmental flows
  • Dr Keller Kopf, Charles Darwin University
    • freshwater and marine fish ecology, trophic ecology
  • Dr Erica Garcia, Charles Darwin University
    • wetland and stream ecology, Adelaide River water quality, speartooth shark ecology
  • Professor Stephen Garnett, Charles Darwin University
    • migratory shorebirds and waterbirds, threatened species.

Other people involved in the project

Other people are providing additional expertise and project support:

  • Peter Waugh, NT Government – Water Security
    • hydrology, water resource assessment
  • Peter Dostine, NT Government – Flora and Fauna
    • aquatic ecology, Adelaide River biodiversity assessment
  • Mike Welch, NT Government – Flora and Fauna
    • magpie geese
  • Dr Yusuke Fukuda, NT Government – Flora and Fauna
    • saltwater crocodiles
  • Dr Brien Roberts, NT Government – Fisheries
    • freshwater and near-coastal fisheries
  • Dr Caroline Chong, NT Government – Flora and Fauna
    • vegetation
  • Jane Thomas, CSIRO
    • project manager, secretariat, reporting
  • Chris Davey, CSIRO
    • project officer.

Get in touch

Please contact Project Leader Dr Alison King or Project Manager Jane Thomas for more information.

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Banner image courtesy Xavier Tingle.

Adelaide River. Photo by Stephen Trudgeon

The Adelaide River in flood. Image courtesy Stephen Trudgeon.