Canberra

The table below contains a breakdown of unregulated flow diversions for other lumped holders in the Canberra and NSW region.

Use types and volumes of diverted unregulated flow in the Canberra and New South Wales region

Data source

ACT Government Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water: Water Resources Unit, Water Resource Information Database.

New South Wales (NSW) Office of Water: Navigator Water Tools.

Data provider

ACT Government Department of Environment Climate Change and Water.

NSW Office of Water.

Method

Australian Capital Territory

This line item includes diversions of unregulated flows under multi-use licences for non-potable water within the ACT. It includes ‘urban use’ for licensed abstraction within the urban area, and ‘other use’ for licensed abstraction outside of the urban area

Individual licensees submit monthly meter readings to the ACT Environment Protection Authority (EPA) on an annual basis. Where a licensee has not provided meter data, the EPA estimates usage based on historical usage data.

New South Wales

In the NSW portion of the subaccount, use has been estimated to be 50% of the NSW Office of Water surface water licence volume for all entitlements within this line item, except for the urban entitlement for Palerang Council. Use for Palerang Council has been estimated as 100% of the entitlement.

The Navigator Water Tools ArcGIS add-on was used to query the NSW Office of Water database spatially and extract usage for the area inside the entity.

Uncertainty

Australian Capital Territory

Over 60% of meters are inspected each year to validate the readings supplied by licensees. Estimated uncertainty for meter accuracy is +/–5%. Uncertainty can not be quantified for estimated usage where meters were not read.

New South Wales

Derived from geographic information system data. Estimated uncertainty is +/–30% to +/–50% based on established practice and professional judgement by NSW Office of Water.

Assumptions, approximations and caveats/limitations

• In NSW, the accuracy of Navigator Water Tools data is limited by the quantity and accuracy of the geographical coordinates defined in the Licensing Administration System.
• Unregulated water use in NSW was assumed to be 50% of the total NSW Office of Water licence volume for all categories of entitlements, except for entitlements within the urban area (Palerang Council). Calculation of this estimate was carried out by the Bureau of Meteorology.