Murray–Darling Basin

13.1 Precipitation on connected surface water

Supporting information

The volumetric value for the line item is 936,682 ML. The following table provides a breakdown of precipitation on connected surface water assets in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) region.

Region no.	Region name	State	Storage¹	Volume 2009–10 (ML)

1	Paroo	Qld/NSW		–
2	Warrego	Qld/NSW		–
3	Condamine–Balonne	Qld/NSW		20,832
			Buckinbah Weir	1,404
			Chinchilla Weir	960
			Connolly Reservoir	237
			Cooby Creek Reservoir	1,756
			Gyranda Weir	300
			Jack Taylor weir	1,624
			Lake Kajarabie	12,482
			Lake Leslie	1,312
			Moolabah Weir	676
			Neil Turner Weir	80
4	Moonie	Qld/NSW		–
5	Border Rivers	Qld/NSW		11,387
			Glenlyon Lake	3,933
			Lake Coolmunda	3,060
			Lake Inverell	214
			Pindari Lake	3,285
			Storm King Reservoir	706
			Tenterfield Creek Reservoir	190
6	Gwydir	NSW		6,340
			Lake Copeton	6,037
			Tareelaroi Weir	303
7	Namoi	NSW		18,179
			Chaffey Reservoir	3,954
			Dungowen Reservoir	455
			Gunidgera Weir	292
			Lake Keepit	10,857
			Mollee Weir	340
			Quipolly Reservoir	720
			Split Rock Reservoir	1,560
8	Macquarie–Castlereagh	NSW		28,603
			Chifley Reservoir	1,790
			Lake Burrendong	15,471
			Lake Oberon	3,078
			Lake Windamere	5,116
			Rylstone Reservoir	666
			Spring Creek Reservoir	715
			Suma Park Reservoir	1,366
			Timor Reservoir	213
			Winburndale Reservoir	187
9	Barwon–Darling	NSW		–
10	Lower Darling	NSW		65,846
			Lake Cawndilla	17,379
			Lake Menindee	8,920
			Lake Wetherell	24,203
			Pamamaroo Lake	12,678
			Stephens Creek Reservoir	2,666
11	Lachlan	NSW		10,616
			Carcoar Lake	350
			Lake Brewster	1,896
			Lake Cargelligo	2,017
			Lake Endeavour	324
			Lake Rowlands	619
			Lake Wyangala	5,409
12	Wimmera–Avoca	Vic		19,217
			Dock Lake	2,771
			Green Lake	258
			Lake Batyo Catyo	31
			Lake Bellfield	1,744
			Lake Fyans	1,719
			Lake Lonsdale	4,720
			Lake Taylor	2,011
			Lake Whitton	314
			Pine Lake	9
			Toolondo Reservoir	28
			Wartook Reservoir	5,613
13	Ovens	Vic		4,505
			Lake Buffalo	3,063
			Lake William Hovell	1,442
14	Goulburn–Broken	Vic		137,360
			Goulburn Weir	6,597
			Greens Lake	2,863
			Lake Eildon	54,446
			Lake Mokoan	49,504
			Lake Nillahcootie	1,905
			Waranga Basin	22,045
15	Loddon	Vic		15,626
			Barkers Creek reservoir	492
			Cairn Curran Reservoir	1,272
			Crusoe Reservoir	218
			Evansford reservoir	198
			Hepburn Lagoon	908
			Kow Swamp	9,964
			Laanecoorie Reservoir	663
			Mccay Reservoir	153
			Newlyn Reservoir	331
			Sandhurst Reservoir	218
			Spring Gully Reservoir	275
			Tullaroop Reservoir	934
16	Campaspe	Vic		10,153
			Campaspe Weir	125
			Lake Eppalock	2,636
			Lauriston Reservoir	2,023
			Malmsbury Reservoir	2,675
			Upper Coliban Reservoir	2,695
17	Murrumbidgee	NSW/ACT		70,947
			Barren Box Swamp	12,355
			Bendora Reservoir	701
			Berembed Weir	437
			Blowering Reservoir	22,183
			Corin Reservoir	1,845
			Cotter Reservoir	295
			Gogeldrie Weir	753
			Googong Reservoir	3,020
			Hay Weir	1,438
			Lake Burley Griffin	4,196
			Lake Burrinjuck	21,505
			Lake Ginninderra	791
			Lake Tuggeranong	538
			Maude Weir	426
			Redbank Weir	69
			Tombullen Storage	394
18	Murray	NSW/Vic/SA		517,072
			Blanchetown Weir Lock.1	3,650
			Bookpurnong Weir Lock.4	2,031
			Kangaroo Racecourse Lake	4,973
			Lake Albert	74,013
			Lake Alexandrina	254,132
			Lake Banimboola	652
			Lake Dartmouth	37,129
			Lake Guy	186
			Lake Hume	66,951
			Lake Mulwala	22,026
			Lake Victoria	29,784
			Mildura Weir	337
			Overland Weir Lock.3	3,942
			Reedy Middle Lake	1,661
			Renmark Weir Lock.5	2,139
			Rocky Valley Storage	5,623
			Third Lake	960
			Torrumbarry weir	3,799
			Waikerie Weir Lock.2	3,086
19	Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SA		–
	Total			936,682

– = no data available

1 Storages include reservoirs and weirs

Quantification approach

Data Source

Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau): Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP), geographical information system (GIS) layers; Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric (AHGF) waterbody feature class; and Australian Water Resources Information System.

Data provider

Bureau of Meteorology.

Method

Monthly precipitation data were produced by the Bureau. Monthly data were based on daily data from approximately 6,500 rain-gauge stations and interpolated to a 0.05 degree (approximately 5 km) national grid (Jones, Wang and Fawcett 2007).

The precipitation at each waterbody was estimated from the average of the grid-points within a 5-km radius of each water feature. The volume was then estimated using the surface area of each waterbody. The average monthly surface area of the major storages was calculated from daily storage levels and capacity tables.

The surface area of most of the storages in the MDB region was calculated using this dynamic method. Where storage-rating table and regular-level data were not available for some of the smaller storages and weirs, the default AHGF waterbody feature class was used to estimate a static surface area. In the MDB region, the precipitation on the connected surface water store included storages only.

Uncertainty

The precipitation volume was estimated from measured data. The uncertainty estimate is ungraded.

Approximations, assumptions, caveats/limitations

The precipitation estimates were subject to approximations associated with interpolating the observation point data to a national grid detailed in Jones, Wang and Fawcett (2007).
The dynamic storage surface areas calculated from the levels and capacity tables represent a monthly average and therefore will not capture changes that occur on a shorter temporal scale.
The use of the static default AHGF waterbody feature class surface area is an approximation only.

National Water Account 2010