Of the 500,000 hectares of irrigated land in Queensland, about 30 per cent is supplied water by SunWater’s eight channel irrigation schemes.
The schemes range in size from the largest around the Burdekin, of approximately 45,000 hectares, to the smallest scheme around Theodore of about 3,000 hectares.
Scheme irrigation facilitates a broad range of crops and produce including sugar cane, cotton, pasture, cereals, tomatoes, rockmelons, watermelons, capsicum, chillies, zucchini, beans, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, citrus, mangoes, grapes, cassava, avocados and sandalwood.
The schemes are the:
- Bundaberg Distribution System
- Burdekin-Haughton Distribution System
- Emerald Distribution System
- Eton Distribution System
- Lower Mary Distribution System
- Mareeba-Dimbulah Distribution System
- St George Distribution System
- Theodore Distribution System
Each of the schemes has a Board which is leading further examination of the local management process.
Advertisements for expressions of interest for the eight boards were published in early 2016 and the Boards which include at least two independent members, were appointed in September 2016.
Board members are listed below
| Scheme | Board type | Members |
| Bundaberg | Investigation board | Maurie Maughan (Chair), irrigator Mark Mammino, experienced business and accounting professional Lynn Smart, finance and water executive Peter Borrows, CEO of Bundaberg Canegrowers Dale Holliss and former SunWater manager Phil Miller. |
| Burdekin-Haughton | Investigation board | Local irrigator Mario Barbagallo (Chair), Mauro Garbuio, engineers, Peter Gilbey and Dan Coutts, farm manager and agronomist, Evan Shannon, and Sucrogen’s farms general manager, Ian Davies. |
| Eton | Transition board | Irrigator Lee Blackburn (Chair), local irrigators, John Muscat and Jo Prior, former SunWater manager Tom Wallwork and engineer/former manager of the Pioneer Valley Water Board, John Palmer. |
| Emerald | Transition board | Financial experts, Anne-Marie O’Callaghan (A/Chair) and David McDougall and local irrigators Ross Burnett, Peter Galea and Hamish Millar. |
| Lower Mary | Investigation board | Agribusiness consultant Geoffrey Wormwell (Chair), irrigator, Allen Birt, financial expert Bernie Wilson, water engineer, Trevor Dean and General Manager – Agriculture for MSF Sugar, Stewart Norton and agribusiness specialist, Warwick Yates. |
| Mareeba-Dimbulah | Investigation board | Horticulturist Joe Moro (Chair), irrigator Maryann Salvetti, experienced water resources manager, Murray Smith, former finance executive Graham Kirkwood, local businessman and former SunWater engineer, Brett Stevenson. |
| St George | Transition board | CPA qualified agricultural business manager, Luke Stower (Chair), irrigators, Scott Armstrong, David Moon and Glen Price and former managing partner of Minter Ellison, Ross Landsberg. |
| Theodore | Transition board | Rural business consultant Malcolm Finlayson (Chair), irrigators, Greg Austin, Kirk Anderson and Peter French, specialist water engineer, Ed Donohue and communication specialist Sarah Cox. |