Rookwood Weir

Rookwood Weir is on track to provide new economic and employment opportunities for the agricultural industry and the community of Central Queensland.

On this page:

• About Rookwood Weir
• Water planning process and timeline
• Business considerations
• Contact us
• More information

About Rookwood Weir

Rookwood Weir is a $568.9 million water infrastructure investment to drive new economic and employment opportunities for the agricultural industry and the community of Central Queensland.

The Queensland and Australian Governments have contributed $183.6 million each to the total spend, and Sunwater is funding the remainder.

The thousands of megalitres of water that Rookwood Weir will make available will underpin agricultural, industrial and urban growth in Central Queensland.

We are working alongside Sunwater to ensure that our water planning supports the water products Sunwater brings to market. To find out more about the Rookwood Weir project or accessing water from Sunwater’s scheme, visit the project page, or contact the Sunwater team by emailing rookwood.weir@sunwater.com.au or calling 1800 423 213.

^{Proposed location of Rookwood Weir in the Fitzroy Basin
Google map co-ordinates: Rookwood Weir 23°32'30.8"S 150°00'56.6"E}

Rookwood Weir crest height optimisation

Through the detailed design process, Sunwater with its design and construction partners identified an opportunity to raise the crest height of Rookwood weir – optimising the yield the weir will deliver. The Queensland and Australian Governments have committed to funding this improvement to ensure Rookwood Weir delivers for Central Queensland.

Find out more about the height optimisation on Sunwater’s project page.

Water planning process and timeline

To support operation of the Rookwood Weir Water Supply Scheme, we have also been working alongside Sunwater to amend the Fitzroy Basin water management protocol (PDF, 3.0MB).

Amendments to the water management protocol are completed and include changed rules to:

• permitted water allocation dealings, including minimum and maximum volume zone limits for the water supply scheme
• prohibited water allocation dealings
• announcement periods for unsupplemented water allocations in the Fitzroy Water Management area.

Read a summary of all changes made to the Fitzroy Basin water management protocol.

Timeline for Fitzroy Basin water planning and Rookwood Weir

Milestones	Timelines
Establishment of Fitzroy Basin water plan	2011
Consultation on statement of proposals to amend the Fitzroy Basin water plan to include Rookwood Weir	April to June 2020
Rookwood Weir water market engagement by Sunwater	May 2020
Rookwood Weir design completed by Sunwater	End of 2020
Rookwood Weir construction starts	April 2021
Final water plan amendment	June 2021
Amendments made to the water management protocol (PDF, 3.0MB), to support operational rules for the Rookwood Weir Water Supply Scheme	June 2023
Resource Operations Licence and operations manual for the Rookwood Weir Water Supply Scheme amended and replaced.	Late 2023
Rookwood Weir commissioned and operational	Late 2023

Business considerations

Investment opportunities and the water allocation offer process are being managed by Sunwater on behalf of the Queensland Government.

For more information on the offer process, read about Sunwater’s Rookwood Weir Project water plan and sales.

Sunwater has already conducted two successful tender processes and contracted a large portion of the available water allocations – so it you are considering securing water from Rookwood Weir to grow your business, you should contact Sunwater. Before you begin, you should obtain independent professional advice relevant for your business.

Below are some starting points for you to consider:

• Find out more about approvals to clear native vegetation.
• Read about development approvals for water-related works.
• Access the one-stop service for agribusiness development tools and support.
• Understand your obligations to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
• Read Sunwater’s overview of landholder opportunities (PDF, 4.7MB) in the region.
• Read about land management.
• Understand the regulations for capturing and storing overland flow water.
• Visit the Queensland Farmers’ Federation for advice on energy efficient irrigation practices.

Contact us

If you require any further information or wish to discuss the Rookwood Weir project with someone from the department, please contact us by emailing waterservicesnorth@rdmw.qld.gov.au

More information

• Find out more about water management in the Fitzroy Basin.
• Get updates on the Rookwood Weir project, or call Sunwater on 1800 423 213 or email rookwood.weir@sunwater.com.au.
• Read about the review of the Fitzroy Basin water plan which is currently underway