Australian Water Information Dictionary
water abstraction
The physical abstraction of water from a water resource for use. It excludes in-system uses of water and results, at least temporarily, in a depletion of the resource. Unless water is abstracted illegally, it is abstracted under a water right. In case the right specifies a volume of water that the water provider is liable to deliver to the water user, the exercise of the right through the abstraction effectively decreases the water liability of the provider.
Related: water take
This definition applies to: