Cooper Creek under pressure: how climate change is reshaping an iconic desert river - Lethal Heating Editor BDA

Key Points

Cooper Creek is one of Australia’s longest inland river systems, stretching more than 1400 kilometres from Queensland into South Australia and feeding the Lake Eyre Basin.1 Its “boom and bust” hydrology supports vast wetlands, waterbird colonies and permanent waterholes that act as drought refuges for fish and other wildlife.2 Climate change is increasing temperatures and evaporation, reducing the persistence of waterholes and altering the timing and extent of floods.3 Water is allocated mainly to stock and domestic use, with limited irrigation, while environmental flows remain largely unregulated but vulnerable to future extraction.4 Existing water‑sharing plans aim to protect natural flow variability and connectivity between waterholes, yet climate‑driven drying threatens long‑term water security.5 Future basin management must prioritise protecting permanent refuges, minimising new infrastructure on flood paths, and integrating Indigenous knowledge into drought‑resilience planning.6

Cooper Creek snakes across some of the driest country on Earth, yet it pulses with life when floods arrive from the north. ¹

Stretching more than 1400 kilometres from central Queensland into northern South Australia, it is one of the continent’s longest inland river systems and a critical artery of the Lake Eyre Basin. ¹

For thousands of years Aboriginal people have relied on its waterholes, floodplains and trade routes, embedding the creek deep in cultural memory. ¹¹

Today it also sustains pastoral stations, small towns, tourism and a globally significant network of wetlands that host millions of waterbirds in big flood years. ²

Climate change is now altering the rhythm of these floods, lengthening droughts and threatening the delicate balance between people, livestock and wildlife. ³

Water‑sharing rules, built around highly variable natural flows, face mounting pressure as temperatures rise and evaporation soaks up more of the system’s limited water. ⁵

How Cooper Creek is managed over the coming decades will determine whether it remains a resilient desert lifeline or becomes another river system stressed beyond its limits. ⁶

Geography and physical character

Cooper Creek begins in the Channel Country of western Queensland, fed by tributaries such as the Barcoo and Thomson rivers that carry monsoonal rains from the north and east. ¹

From there it meanders southwest across low‑gradient plains, eventually crossing into South Australia and feeding the Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre terminal basin. ¹

The total catchment covers more than 29 million hectares, making it one of the largest unregulated river systems in Australia. ²

Across much of its length the creek is ephemeral, with long stretches dry for years at a time and only a few permanent or near‑permanent waterholes. ²

When floods arrive, water spreads across wide, shallow channels and swamps, creating a braided network of flows that can take weeks or months to move through the system. ²

Geomorphological studies show that sand dunes, alluvial fans and low‑relief plains shape how floodwaters move, with lakes and swamps acting as “sinks” that slow and store water. ²

This slow, diffuse flow regime is what allows wetlands such as the Coongie Lakes to fill and support huge populations of waterbirds and native fish. ²

Economic, ecological and cultural importance

Ecologically, Cooper Creek is an international reference site for how intermittent desert rivers function. ²

Its “boom and bust” cycles drive explosive growth in aquatic plants, fish and invertebrates during floods, followed by a contraction into deep, permanent waterholes that sustain species through drought. ²

The Coongie Lakes in South Australia are listed under the Ramsar Convention for their global importance to waterbirds, with surveys recording up to several million birds in major flood events. ²

Permanent refuges such as Cullyamurra and Nappa Merrie waterholes shelter at least 13 native fish species and other aquatic fauna when the wider system dries. ²

Economically, the creek underpins extensive pastoral leases where cattle graze on natural floodplain pastures after big rains. ²

Oil and gas operations in the Cooper Basin draw on groundwater resources linked to the same basin, while tourism around Innamincka and the Channel Country relies on the river’s dramatic floods and wildlife. ²

Culturally, Cooper Creek has been a trade and travel corridor for Aboriginal groups for tens of thousands of years, with sites along its banks marking meeting places, ceremonial grounds and resource‑rich refuges. ¹¹

Climate change and the shifting hydrology

Climate projections for the Lake Eyre Basin indicate rising temperatures, higher evaporation and more erratic rainfall, all of which affect Cooper Creek’s flow patterns. ³

Mean annual pan evaporation in the South Australian section already exceeds 3500 millimetres, far outstripping the region’s median rainfall of about 100–150 millimetres. ²

Hydrological modelling suggests that even modest reductions in flow or increases in evaporation can shorten the time waterholes remain full, shrinking the number of drought refuges. ³

Studies of similar arid‑zone waterholes show that higher temperatures and evaporation are likely to reduce waterhole persistence, making native fish and other aquatic species more vulnerable. ¹⁹

At the same time, climate models indicate that when rain does fall it may come in more intense bursts, potentially leading to larger but less frequent floods that can alter sediment and vegetation patterns. ³

These changes threaten the finely tuned “boom and bust” ecology that many plants and animals depend on, including waterbirds whose breeding is tightly linked to flood timing and extent. ²

Water allocation and use

Water in the Cooper Creek system is governed by state‑based water‑sharing plans that distinguish between surface water, overland flows and groundwater. ⁴

In Queensland, the Water Plan (Cooper Creek) 2011 defines availability, sets rules for taking water and seeks to maintain the variability and seasonality of natural flows. ⁵

Most surface‑water entitlements are for stock and domestic use, with only small‑scale irrigation occurring in the upper catchment and limited infrastructure such as weirs or dams. ⁵

In South Australia, the Cooper Creek Water Allocation Plan similarly prioritises existing stock and domestic needs while recognising the ecological value of unregulated flows. ¹⁷

Environmental water is largely implicit in the system’s natural variability rather than allocated through formal “environmental entitlements”, because the river remains largely unregulated. ²

Urban and industrial uses are minor compared with pastoral demands, though growing mining and tourism activity increase pressure on local groundwater and surface‑water access points. ²

Climate change and future water security

As climate change reduces the reliability of floods and lengthens dry periods, the same water‑sharing frameworks that once assumed highly variable but broadly stable flow regimes now face a different reality. ³

Existing plans emphasise maintaining connectivity between waterholes and avoiding significant extraction from permanent refuges, but they were not designed for a consistently hotter, drier climate. ⁵

Higher evaporation and reduced flow persistence could shrink the pool of water available for stock, domestic use and environmental function, particularly in the lower Cooper where water already becomes saline in prolonged droughts. ²

Any expansion of irrigation or new large‑scale extractions would further stress the system, especially if they occur in parts of the catchment that currently provide critical flood pulses downstream. ⁵

Infrastructure such as raised roads, bridges and mine access tracks can also disrupt natural flow paths, changing where and how floodwaters spread and potentially isolating wetlands and waterholes. ²

Indigenous and local knowledge, combined with hydrological monitoring, will be essential to detect early signs of change and adjust management before key refuges are compromised. ¹¹

What planners and policymakers must focus on

To safeguard Cooper Creek, regional planners and policymakers must treat permanent waterholes and key wetlands as non‑negotiable ecological assets, restricting any new extraction that would reduce their reliability. ²

Water‑sharing rules should be periodically reviewed against updated climate projections and hydrological data, with explicit triggers for tighter extraction limits during extended droughts. ³

New infrastructure on flood paths, including roads, bridges and mining facilities, must be designed to allow natural flow patterns and avoid fragmenting the system’s connectivity. ²

Integrated groundwater‑surface water management is needed to prevent over‑reliance on bores that could deplete aquifers linked to the river’s refuges. ⁵

Finally, formalising the role of Aboriginal knowledge and local pastoral experience in drought‑planning and monitoring will strengthen the evidence base for decisions that affect both people and ecosystems. ¹¹

If these steps are taken, Cooper Creek can continue to function as a resilient desert river, even as climate change reshapes the arid landscapes it flows through. ⁶

References

1. Cooper Creek | Research Starters – EBSCO
2. Managing the High Ecological Value Aquatic Ecosystems – SAAL
3. Climate Change Impacts on the Water Resources of the Cooper Creek Catchment – MODSIM
4. Cooper Creek water resource planning area – WetlandInfo
5. Water Plan (Cooper Creek) 2011 – Queensland Legislation
6. Innamincka/Cooper Creek State Heritage Area – SA Environment
7. Water Resource (Cooper Creek) Plan 2011 – Queensland Legislation
8. Climate change effects on waterhole persistence in rivers – ScienceDirect
9. Water Sharing Plan for the Coopers Creek Water Source 2003 – NSW Legislation
10. Water Resource (Cooper Creek) Plan 2011 – Queensland Government
11. Innamincka/Cooper Creek State Heritage Area – SA Environment (Aboriginal heritage)
12. Cooper Creek – Wikipedia (contextual overview)

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