About the 2011 Account
The National Water Account 2011 presents a set of eight regional water accounting reports.
The objective of the National Water Account is to disclose information about the total water resource, the volume of water available for abstraction, the rights to abstract water, and the actual abstraction of water for economic, social, cultural and environmental benefit, for geographic regions of national significance.
The eight 2011 Account reporting regions are the same as for the 2010 Account:
- Adelaide
- Canberra
- Melbourne
- Murray-Darling Basin
- Ord
- Perth
- South-East Queensland
- Sydney
Collectively, these eight regions are home to over 70% of Australia's population, and are where, over the long-term, more than two-thirds of total annual Australian water consumption occurs. Based on 2009-10 data, about 70% of Australia's urban water abstraction occurs in the six capital city regions, with a further 7% taking place in the Murray-Darling Basin region.
The 2011 Account reporting period is 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011, referred to as 2010-11. For the first time, comparative year information is provided. Presenting the 2009-10 comparison year information along side the 2010-11 information provides important insights into changes to the water regime within each region for these two years. The value of this information will increase as more years of comparative data become available.
A cooperative approach was taken to producing the 2011 Account. The Bureau, partners and a number of other organisations contributed data which was then complied into the 2011 Account. Information about specific data sources can be found in the notes to the 2011 Account.
Based on feedback on the 2010 Account, the 2011 Account has incorporated a number of improvements to concepts and refinements to technical methods.
While the best available data and supporting information was used there are still some data gaps in the 2011 Account. Due to the newness of this approach to water resources reporting, current data collection and quantification processes do not always fully align with the breadth of data required for the National Water Account. Improving quantification methods and addressing information gaps is a priority for the ongoing development and refinement of the National Water Account.
The preparation and presentation of the 2011 Account was guided by the first Australian Water Accounting Standard 1, which was in exposure draft form during the period the 2011 Account was compiled.
Read the Information sheet (484KB) to find out more about the National Water Account.
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