The Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914 provides the Governor of Western Australia the power to proclaim or prescribe through regulation a Surface Water Area. A Surface Water Area is proclaimed for the purposes of regulating the taking of water from watercourses and wetlands. An area is proclaimed, or prescribed through regulations, where there is a need for systematic management of the use of water. The proclamation is made on the recommendation of the Department and must first be tabled before both Houses of Parliament.

Proclaiming or prescribing an area has the effect of allowing the use of water for commercial activity under a licence. Where an area has been proclaimed, the provisions of Division 1B of Part III of the Act apply to surface water in that area. This allows comprehensive management of water uses in that area.

This dataset defines the boundaries which are proclaimed as Irrigation Districts (IDs) under the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act, 1914 (RIWI Act). In addition to the boundary definition within the Act these areas are subject to Division 1B of the Act which implements licensing of water use from watercourses and wetlands in the area.

Irrigation districts are areas where the Water Corporation or another service provider may construct work and supply water to land owners for irrigation purposes.

This dataset is the result of combining three existing datasets; RIWI Areas, RIWI Irrigation Districts and RIWI Surface Water Areas. It replaces all three.

This dataset was formally known as RIWI Act, Surface Water Areas and Irrigation Districts (DOW-019)