Murray-Darling Basin
13.1 Adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation

The volumetric value for the line item for the 2010–11 year was 1,594,699 ML. The line item includes adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation (1,488,784 ML) and other surface water liability adjustments (105,915 ML) in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) region. The line item does not include details for urban water systems. They are included in line item 13.2 Adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation – urban water system.

 Adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation

The following two tables provide a summary and breakdown information on adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation (excluding urban water systems) within the region. 

 

Summary of adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation (excluding urban water systems) in the MDB region

Water resource plan area		State	Volume (ML) for the 2010–11 year
Code	Name
SW19	Warrego – Paroo – Nebine	Qld	1,756
SW18	Condamine–Balonne	Qld	–
SW17	Moonie	Qld	na
SW16	Qld Border Rivers	Qld	–3,668
SW15	NSW Border Rivers	NSW	4,605
SW11	Barwon–Darling watercourse	NSW	na
SW12	NSW Intersecting Streams	NSW	na
SW14	Gwydir	NSW	2,701
SW13	Namoi	NSW	34,035
SW10	Macquarie–Castlereagh	NSW	19,956
Sub-total Northern Basin			59,385
SW9	Lachlan	NSW	56,507
SW8	Murrumbidgee NSW	NSW	932,029
SW7	NSW Murray and Lower Darling	NSW	221,304
SW3	Northern Victoria	Vic	–106,434
SW2	Vic Murray	Vic	89,844
SW4	Wimmera–Mallee	Vic	22,547
SW6	Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SA	–
SW5	SA Murray	SA	213,602
SW1	ACT	ACT	na
Sub-total Southern Basin			1,429,399
Total for the region			1,488,784

– = Data not available, na = not applicable

 

Details of adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation (excluding urban water systems) in the MDB region

Water resource plan area	Sustainable diversion limit area		State	Entitlement class	Volume (ML) for the 2010–11 year
	Code	Name
Warrego – Paroo – Nebine	SS28	Warrego	Qld	Supplemented	1,756
Qld Border Rivers	SS24	Qld Border Rivers	Qld	Supplemented	–3,668
Sub-total Queensland					–1,912
NSW Border Rivers	SS23	NSW Border Rivers	NSW	High security	123
				General security	3,814
				Stock and domestic	668
				Sub-total	4,605
Gwydir	SS22	Gwydir	NSW	High security	99
				General security	923
				Stock and domestic	1,619
				High security – research	60
				Sub-total	2,701
Namoi	SS21	Namoi	NSW	High security	808
				General security	31,486
				Stock and domestic	1,452
				High security – research	289
				Sub-total	34,035
Macquarie–Castlereagh	SS20	Macquarie–Castlereagh	NSW	High security	679
				General security	10,959
				Stock and domestic	4,575
				High security – research	3,743
				Sub-total	19,956
Lachlan	SS16	Lachlan	NSW	High security	15,860
				General security	16,340
				Stock and domestic	10,743
				Conveyance	13,564
				Sub-total	56,507
Murrumbidgee NSW	SS15	Murrumbidgee NSW	NSW	High security	23,263
				General security	839,324
				Stock and domestic	16,953
				Conveyance	52,265
				High security – research	174
				High security – Aboriginal cultural	50
				Sub-total	932,029
NSW Murray and Lower Darling	SS18	Lower Darling	NSW	High security	0
				General security	1
				Supplementary	0
				Stock and domestic	920
				Sub-total	921
	SS14	NSW Murray	NSW	High security	2,372
				General security	208,580
				Supplementary	0
				Stock and domestic	9,431
				Conveyance	0
				High security – research	0
				High security – Aboriginal cultural	0
				High security – community and education	0
				Sub-total	220,383
Sub-total New South Wales					1,271,118
Northern Victoria	SS4	Ovens	Vic	High reliability water share	25,501
	SS5	Broken	Vic	Combined high and low reliability	7,153
	SS6	Goulburn	Vic	Combined high and low reliability	–132,218
	SS7	Campaspe	Vic	Combined high and low reliability	22,161
	SS8	Loddon	Vic	Combined high and low reliability	–29,031
Vic Murray	SS2	Vic Murray	Vic	Combined high and low reliability	89,844
Wimmera–Mallee	SS9	Wimmera–Mallee	Vic	High reliability water share	22,547
Sub-total Victoria					5,957
Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SS13	Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SA	Regulated	–
				unregulated	–
				Sub-total	–
SA Murray	SS11	SA Murray	SA	Class 1  – stock and domestic	0
				Class 2 – other urban (country town) water supply	na
				Class 3 – irrigation and holding	–
				Class 4 – recreation	–
				Class 5 – industrial	0
				Class 6 – Metro-Adelaide water supply scheme	na
				Class 7 – environment	–
				Class 8 – environmental land management	–
				Combined classes urban	na
				Combined classes metered	213,602
				Sub-total	213,602
	SS10	SA non-prescribed areas	SA	Regulated	–
				unregulated	–
				Sub-total	–
Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges	SS12	Marne–Saunders	SA	Regulated	–
				unregulated	–
				Sub-total	–
Sub-total South Australia					213,602
Total for the region					1,488,784

– = Data not available, na = not applicable

 

Queensland

In Queensland, the resource operation plans (ROPs) distinguish between high and medium priority of supplemented water allocation. The water audit monitoring (WAM) data, which are the data source for the 2011 Account, only distinguish between supplemented and unsupplemented entitlements. Both urban and non-urban supplemented entitlements are included within the supplemented entitlement class. Supplemented urban and supplemented non-urban volumes on allocations, diversions and other attributes were received together and it is not possible for these to be separated out for the two purposes. Therefore, this line item includes adjustment and forfeiture volumes for both urban and non-urban supplemented entitlements. 

For continuous accounting systems in Condamine–Balonne and Border Rivers, it was not possible to calculate the adjustment and forfeiture volumes due to lack of information. The volume for Condamine is shown as data not available and the volume reported for Border River is a result of a trade imbalance in the unsupplemented Border Rivers system.

 New South Wales

Usually unused allocation balances are forfeited for entitlement classes: stock and domestic, community and education, research and Aboriginal culture. In some cases, the allocation may be overdrawn and the balance is shown in line item 5.1 Surface water allocation remaining.

In the Murrumbidgee water resource plan (WRP) area, irrigators may borrow water from the Snowy Scheme. This borrow is made under a contractual agreement between the irrigator and the Snowy Scheme. The volume contracted is then credited by NSW Office of Water (NOW) to the individual account of the irrigator, allowing the irrigator to order water from the water assets administered by NOW. In parallel, the Snowy Scheme transfers the physical water into Blowering Reservoir in the Murrumbidgee WRP area. When the irrigator is able in subsequent years to repay the debt, they notify NOW, which debits the account from the volume previously borrowed, thus reducing the allocation announced earlier in the year. Line item 1.5 Inter-region claim on water provides details of the inter region transfers from Snowy Hydro.

Adjustment and forfeiture volume for New South Wales Border rivers WRP area accounts for unreconciled water trade between New South Wales and Queensland.

 Victoria

Victorian allocation adjustment and forfeiture are shown in the source valley, even though the water was taken in a different destination valley. Therefore all entitlements in the Goulburn sustainable diversion limit (SDL) area have their allocation adjustments and forfeiture shown in that area, rather than the destination valleys of the Loddon or the Campaspe.

In Victoria, once an allocation has been made, regardless of its class, it goes into a single allocation account. Therefore, adjustment and forfeiture volumes are not specified as high reliability water share or a low reliability water share and are reported as combined high and low reliability water share.

Allocation volumes have the 50% carry-over limit rule applied for the Broken River system. This rule limits the carry-over to a maximum of 50% and the subsequent allocation in the year to a maximum of 50%, rather than the announced allocation of 100%.

 South Australia

No carry-over was permitted for South Australian Murray at the end of the 2010–11 year. In this line item for South Australia, adjustment and forfeiture volumes include the classes 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 as a combined class. Carry-over is not allowed for classes 1, 5 and 8, and therefore all unused water within these classes is forfeited.

 Other adjustments made on surface water liabilities

Other adjustments made in this line item include accounting of:

• liabilities arising from allocation and tagged trade in the region
• other unaccounted liabilities.

These two attributes are currently not taken into account in the reconciliation of surface water allocation–related line items in the Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau)'s accounting process.  These attributes have been taken into account as adjustments in this line item to represent them in the water accounting statements. The following table provides information on these adjustments.

 

Other surface water liability adjustments

Description	Northern Basin (ML)	Southern Basin (ML)	Whole region (ML)
Liability decrease from surface water allocation and tagged trade and unaccounted surface water liabilities	128,562	–22,647	105,915

 

Details of surface water allocation and tagged trade are available in the Water market activity region note. Unaccounted surface water liability was due to allocation trade imbalance (which has not been reflected in the liability data available for allocation and tagged trade) between New South Wales and Queensland.

(1) New South Wales: NSW Office of Water's Water Accounting section; and (2) WAM data received from Queensland (22 December 2011), South Australia (07 February 2012) and Victoria (31 January 2012), and stored in the Murray–Darling Basin Authority HYDRO database.

Murray–Darling Basin Authority and the Bureau.

NSW Office of Water supplied data are prepared on a water balance approach. The forfeitures and adjustments have been checked to ensure that the closing balance reconciles.

Adjustment and forfeiture for Queensland was calculated using WAM data on a water balance approach. The forfeitures and adjustments have been checked to ensure that the closing balance reconciles. Adjustment and forfeiture does not apply in the St George (Condamine–Balonne SDL area), Border Rivers and Macintyre Brook (Queensland Border Rivers SDL area) water supply schemes, which are continuous share schemes.

Adjustment and forfeiture for South Australia was calculated using WAM data on a water balance approach. The forfeitures and adjustments have been checked to ensure that the closing balance reconciles.

Victorian adjustment and forfeiture was calculated using a water balance approach with data from WAM, and the allocation remaining (carry-over) volumes supplied by the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). DSE carry-over was used instead of WAM carry-over as more information was available on how these figures were derived and carry-over volumes were provided for more valleys.

Uncertainty reported by NSW Office of Water accounts for possible errors in the quantification of diversion and in the data handling processes.

Information provided in this line item may have been based on Cap valleys in the HYDRO database, which may not align perfectly with SDL areas.

WAM supplied data are either measured, modelled or estimated. The uncertainty value for the New South Wales data provided in this line item is +/– 10%. The uncertainty estimate was not quantified for all other adjustment and forfeiture volumes reported in this line item.

This line item corresponds to line items listed in the following table and reported in the 2010 Account. In the 2011 Account, the following change was made that caused the 2009–10 year value to be restated:

• Presentation and classification of the line items has changed since the 2010 Account.

The changes and their respective values are detailed in the following table.

 

Restatement of comparative year information made for the line item 13.1 Adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation

Description		Northern Basin (ML)	Southern Basin (ML)	Whole region (ML)
Line item names and values reported for the 2009–10 year in the 2010 Account	26.1.1.1 Adjustment and forfeiture of allocation on regulated flows – stock and domestic water access entitlement	7,673	16,343	24,016
	26.1 .2.5 – Adjustment and forfeiture of allocation on regulated flows – high security, individual holder for stock and domestic	0	0	0
	26.1.2.7 Adjustment and forfeiture of allocation on regulated flows – high security, other lumped holders	5,126	20,301	25,427
	26.1.3.6 Adjustment and forfeiture of allocation on regulated flows – general and low security, other lumped holders	26,144	33,669	59,813
	26.1.9.1 Adjustment and forfeiture of allocation on regulated flows – bulk irrigator holder	0	17,275	17,275
	26.1.9.2 Adjustment and forfeiture of allocation on regulated flows – individual irrigator holder	0	0	0
	26.1.9.7 Adjustment and forfeiture of allocation on regulated flows – other lumped holders	0	366,273	366,273
	Total value reported for the 2010 Account	38,943	453,861	492,804
	Changes in the value reported in the 2010 Account due to regrouping of line items		4,169	–505,828	–501,659
Value reported for the 2009–10 year in the 2011 Account		43,112	–51,967	–8,855

 

Changes in the value reported in the 2010 Account due to regrouping of line items were due to the following reasons:

• The high security entitlement classes within New South Wales for research, industrial, cultural, community and education were reported under urban line items in the 2010 Account.  Adjustment and forfeiture associated with these entitlement classes was designated as non-urban and included in this line item for the 2011 Account.  

• Liability changes associated with allocation and tagged trade and unaccounted liability were accounted in line item 13.1 (this line item) for the 2011 Account.  For the 2010 Account, unaccounted liability was included in line item 25.6 Other lumped surface water liability increases.  This regrouping was made because the accounting system currently available for the 2011 Account has limitations in accounting allocation and tagged trade and unaccounted liability.