A draft Georgina-Diamantina water plan proposes harvesting floodwater for limited use in fodder crops, organic grazing and public amenities.
The rivers, when in flood, form part of an overflow that forms an "inland ocean" draining through the Channel Country into Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre in South Australia.
The draft has been criticised for lacking detail on flows and the impact on iconic wetlands.
Floodwater from Lake Eyre Basin could be harvested for limited use in farming under a draft plan released by the Queensland government.
The creeks and rivers of the Georgina and Diamantina catchment are dry most of the year, but during the wet season, monsoonal rains create an "inland ocean" that can travel all the way to South Australia.
Near the headwaters of the Diamantina River at Nuken Station, about 100 kilometres north-west of Winton, cattle producer David Batt has lived through flood and drought.
But even in the driest years, the river runs.
"I've been here since 1984, and there's never a year that it hasn't run," he said.
Dams and waterholes catch some of this "overland flow", while pumps, levees or other obstructions can divert water to storage for use when the rain stops.
Under the current water plan, which is due to expire in 2027, landholders can harvest water during a flood without a licence for…
