Australian Water Information Dictionary

Alphabetical list of items

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rainfall

The total liquid product of precipitation or condensation from the atmosphere, as received and measured in a rain gauge.

Source: learn about meteorology

Related:

This definition applies to:

rainfall deficit

Rainfall minus the amount of evaporation that would occur if a sufficient water was available. This is usually calculated for a period of a month, season or year.

This definition applies to:

rainfall residual

Actual rainfall minus the average rainfall.

This definition applies to:

Ramsar sites

Wetlands of international importance that are representative, rare or unique, or are important for conserving biological diversity and are developed and protected under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

This definition applies to:

raster data

Data organised as a regular grid or as pixels.

Source: Geofabric Product Guide V2.0

This definition applies to:

raster dataset

Represents geographic features by dividing the world into discrete square or rectangular cells laid out in a grid. Each cell has a value that is used to represent some characteristic of that location.

This definition applies to:

rating

A relationship between variables.

Related: stage-discharge relationship

This definition applies to:

rating table

Any table showing the relation between two mutually dependent quantities or variables over a given range of magnitude, e.g., a table showing the relationship between the stage in a reservoir and its volume.

Source: waterinfo.nsw Water Information Glossary

This definition applies to:

raw water

Untreated water.

This definition applies to:

recycled water

Treated sewage effluent, and:

• includes water extracted by sewer mining and subsequently treated

• does not include treated urban stormwater.

This definition applies to:

reduced level

The surveyed level of a location relative to a datum (after survey calculations have been completed).

Synonym: RL

This definition applies to:

reference point

A point from which a water level measurement is recorded.

This definition applies to:

reflected global solar exposure

The total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted from the sun that is reflected from the ground and irradiates a specified unit horizontal surface from underneath.

Source: Water Regulations 2008 Schedule 3 Part 1. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to Federal Register of Legislation

This definition applies to:

reflected global solar irradiance

The irradiance emitted from the sun that is reflected from the ground and irradiates a specified unit horizontal surface from underneath.

Source: Water Regulations 2008 Schedule 3 Part 1. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to Federal Register of Legislation

This definition applies to:

region

(i) Spatial unit on which sub-accounts of the National Water Account are built. (ii) Region is also the name given in the National Water Account to the water accounting concept of water report entity.

This definition applies to:

region note

In the National Water Account, a note that is not specific to a line item but may apply to all or part of the region.

This definition applies to:

regulated channel

Channel on which a licensed entitlement regime exists with centralised allocation, and from which orders may be placed for upstream release of a licensed allocation. A necessary, but not sufficient condition for a channel to be regulated is that it is located downstream of a ‘Storage for Entitlement’.

This definition applies to:

regulated entitlement

There are multiple contexts for this item

Context 1

The National Water Account considers an entitlement or claim to water to be regulated when all three of the following conditions are met:

  1. The holder of a water entitlement or a claim to water can order the release or delivery of water as per their entitlement or claim.

  2. The volume of water as specified on the entitlement or claim is ‘at call’ and subject to relatively few access conditions under normal circumstances.

  3. The entitlement or claim to water is volumetrically well-specified.

All regulated entitlements and claims to water and actual diversions of flows are reported in the respective water accounting statements of the National Water Account.

This definition applies to:

Context 2

An entitlement or claim to water is considered to be regulated when all three of the following conditions are met:

  1. The holder of a water entitlement or a claim to water can order the release or delivery of water as per their entitlement or claim.
  2. The volume of water as specified on the entitlement or claim is ‘at call’ and subject to relatively few access conditions under normal circumstances.
  3. The entitlement or claim to water is volumetrically well-specified.

All allocations on regulated entitlements and actual diversions of flows are reported in the respective water accounting statements of the National Water Account.

This definition applies to:

regulated flows

There are multiple contexts for this item

Context 1

A channel flow resulting from an upstream release of a licensed allocation.

This definition applies to:

Context 2

A river flow resulting from an upstream release of a licensed allocation. Note: the term river can be replaced by channel with the same meaning.

This definition applies to:

regulated river

River on which a licensed entitlement regime exists with centralised allocation, and from which orders may be placed for upstream release of a licensed allocation. A necessary, but not sufficient condition for a river to be regulated is that it is located downstream of a surface water storage. Note: the term 'river' can be replaced with 'channel' and retain the same meaning.

This definition applies to:

regulated water resource

A water resource which has its flows controlled through the use of infrastructure to store and release water.

This definition applies to:

relative humidity

A traditional indicator of the air's moisture content. It is the ratio of the amount of moisture actually in the air to the maximum amount of moisture which the air could hold at the same temperature. Relative humidity is normally expressed as a percentage and at saturation the relative humidity will be very close to 100%. The air can hold more moisture at higher temperatures, hence the relative humidity alone does not give an absolute measure of moisture content.

Source: learn about meteorology

This definition applies to:

reliability

The frequency with which water allocated under a water access entitlement is able to be supplied in full.

Source: Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative Schedule B(ii)

Synonym: entitlement security

Equivalent: water market equivalent terms

This definition applies to:

remote sensing

Any kind of data recording by a sensor which measures energy emitted or reflected by objects located at some distance from the sensor (i.e. no direct ground contact). Can include aerial photographs, airborne digital sensors and satellite imagery.

Source: Richardson, S., et al., (2011). Australian groundwater-dependent ecosystem toolbox part 1: assessment framework, Waterlines report, National Water Commission, Canberra

This definition applies to:

reporting date

The end of the last day of the reporting period.

This definition applies to:

reporting frequency

A designation given to rainfall monitoring sites that indicates how often, or at what times, observations are reported. The set of frequencies include: • Continuous: sites equipped with continuous rainfall intensity recording devices; commonly referred to as the "Pluviograph Network". • Daily: sites where observations of total daily rainfall or evaporation are made. • Synoptic: sites providing discrete observations of total rainfall at some synoptic hours (e.g. 6am, 12am and 3pm) in addition to 9am.

Related: rainfall

This definition applies to:

reporting period

The period for which a water accounting report is prepared.

This definition applies to:

residential water

The total amount of metered and estimated non-metered, potable and non-potable water supplied to residential properties.

This definition applies to:

return flow

The volume of returns of water from delivery service providers or water users to surface water assets.

This definition applies to:

rights to abstract water

In the National Water Account, it is equated to the right to access water, which gives access to a share of the total water resource.

This definition applies to:

rights to water

Include a broad array of rights, with associated obligations, to access and use water or to have access to water infrastructure and may arise from common or statute law. Such rights include but are not limited to: riparian rights to water in a stream, water access licence or entitlements, annual water allocations, the right to a water supply service that may be subject to restrictions, shares in water distribution infrastructure capacity, the right to trade water entitlement or annual water allocation.

This definition applies to:

riparian

An area or zone within or along the banks of a stream or adjacent to a watercourse or wetland; relating to a riverbank and its environment, particularly to the vegetation.

Related: riparian zone

This definition applies to:

riparian zone

The interface between land and a river or stream.

Related: riparian

This definition applies to:

river alert advice

A river alert is an advice issued whenever specific rainfall or river height criteria are exceeded at key reporting stations.

This definition applies to:

river height bulletin

A summary of observed river heights (metres) at selected locations and specified times within river basins. These bulletins are not available in all States.

This definition applies to:

river region

Produced as part of the Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric (Geofabric). These regions align with, and are nested within, the revised drainage divisions.

Source: Geofabric Product Guide V2.0

Related:

This definition applies to:

RL

reduced level

The surveyed level of a location relative to a datum (after survey calculations have been completed).

Synonym: reduced level

This definition applies to:

RMSE

root mean squared error

The square root of the average square error (SE) for a set of forecasts

The SE is the squared difference between the observed value and median of the forecast.

This definition applies to:

RMSEP

root mean squared error in probability

The square root of the average square error in probability (SEP) for a set of forecasts

The SEP is the squared difference between the historical probabilities of the observed value and median of the forecast.

This definition applies to:

root mean squared error

The square root of the average square error (SE) for a set of forecasts

The SE is the squared difference between the observed value and median of the forecast.

Related: root mean squared error in probability

Synonym: RMSE

This definition applies to:

root mean squared error in probability

The square root of the average square error in probability (SEP) for a set of forecasts

The SEP is the squared difference between the historical probabilities of the observed value and median of the forecast.

Related: root mean squared error

Synonym: RMSEP

This definition applies to:

rudosols

Soils with minimal development. Widespread but most have few commercial land uses because of their properties or occurrence in arid regions, or both. The largest areas occur in the desert regions of arid central and northwest Australia and support grazing of native pastures.

Source: R F Isbell, 1996, The Australian Soil Classification, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

This definition applies to:

runoff dam

A dam or reservoir that collects surface water flowing across land.

Note: In New South Wales, a runoff dam may also collect water from a first- or second-order stream.

Source: Water Act 2007 -Basin Plan, Part 3 Section 1.07, viewed 25 July 2015. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to Federal Register of Legislation

Related: farm dam

This definition applies to:

rural water utility

An organisation that supplies water for irrigation, town and community use in a rural area.

This definition applies to: